BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Workers at Black Cap Coffee’s Church Street location walked out Saturday, protesting what they call the company’s unfair labor practices.
Workers said they held the strike to fight back at the company’s targeting of unionized workers in mass layoffs to discourage unionization.
Employees at the Church Street location unionized earlier this year, and have spent the last nine months negotiating contracts.
Black Cap owner Laura Vilalta recently announced the closure of the Burlington location at the end of December, just before workers are set to receive their annual raise.
“You know you work really hard with those huge numbers of people coming in, raking in a ton of revenue for the company, and then to get laid off right before you’re set to receive your wage, or your PTO gets approved, it’s very disheartening,” said Cassidy Myers, a baker at Black Cap.
The three non-union locations in Waterbury, Stowe and Morrisville will remain open.
There’s no set end date to the strike, and workers said they’re prepared to escalate their efforts, including picketing outside non-union locations.
