The Philz Coffee location at 1110 Ocean Avenue, along with three more locations in California, filed for union elections Tuesday. The Ocean Avenue location employs 13 people; together, the four locations employ about 60 workers.
Before this week’s move, only the Philz location at 1313 Ninth St. in Berkeley was unionized. Employees at the Berkeley Philz began the process in 2024 and are currently negotiating their first contract.
Joining the Philz’s Ocean Avenue location are shops in Glendale, Cupertino, and Torrance. Representatives from UFCW Local 5, which also represents the Berkeley location, said they are already in contact with more stores in California.
The union organizing comes after the coffee chain, which was founded in the Mission District in the early 2000s, sold to private equity firm Freeman Spogli for $145 million last summer. It also comes after the company’s recent decision to remove all flags, including Pride flags, from its stores, which was later reversed after significant backlash from customers and employees. However, UFCW Local 5 said new stores have never been allowed to hang Pride flags or symbols, even after the no-flag policy was reversed.
“We joined Philz because we believed in its values of being kind, keeping it real, and always pursuing better,” said Irene Leavitt, a Philz Coffee worker at Torrance. “But too often, our concerns about safety, scheduling, wages, and transparency have gone unheard.”
Jim Abalay, director of strategic campaigns for UFCW Local 5, said some of the workers’ concerns include pay, scheduling improvement, workplace health and safety, and broader decision making about their working environment (as in, not killing Pride flags, especially ahead of Pride Month).
The push to unionize at Philz comes amid a broader national labor movement among coffee companies. Workers at Highwire Coffee, La Colombe, Verve Coffee, Cat & Cloud Coffee, and Peerless Coffee have also organized with UFCW, the organization said.
“I am really excited to move forward with unionizing,” said Makella Campbell, an employee of the Cupertino Philz. “This whole process has made me appreciate my coworkers more and it helped me understand my rights and responsibilities as an employee. It seems like we all have a common goal: a safe and secure workplace.”
Philz Coffee did not respond before time of publication.
