HALIFAX — Baristas from many Halifax coffee shops are organizing unions, reports the National Post.
Baristas at Just Us! coffee shop have reportedly joined Local 2 of the Service Employees International Union, while employees at two Second Cup stores are purported to have voted to join the union as well.
According to the paper, the call for unionization follows media reports stating employees were fired after trying to form a union.
“We’re seeing a real phenomenon in Halifax of coffee-shop workers coming together and organizing,” said Tony Tracy, Atlantic representative for the Canadian Labour Congress, as quoted by the National Post. He added that coffee shops employ many young workers who are educated but unable to find work. As a result, such workers are looking to make their jobs more secure. [National Post]
