Spyhouse Coffee employees strike to demand union recognition

Spyhouse Coffee employees executed a one-day unfair labor practices strike and picketed Saturday outside the company’s Northeast Minneapolis store to demand recognition of their union.

In August, employees announced their intention to join Unite Here! Local 17, Minneapolis’s hospitality union. The union would cover 39 employees across five corporate-owned Spyhouse locations in the Twin Cities, a representative told KSTP.

Fair State Brewing Cooperative employees unionize as others struggle for recognition by ownership

Workers are citing unsafe conditions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, such as:

• Unclear mask policies
• Lack of enforced social distancing
• Lack of cleaning supplies
• Tables that aren’t socially distanced

Spyhouse employees are looking to join their peers in the hospitality industry who have successfully unionized with Unite Here! Local 17 this year, such as Fair State Brewing Cooperative, Tattersall Distilling, Lawless Distilling Company, and Stilheart Distillery and Cocktail Room.