November 20, 2021
Labor organizing in the Boston area has gotten a hip makeover. Two local coffee shop chains, Pavement & Darwin’s Ltd., have had their employees vote to form unions.
These baristas have been the unlikely stars of the progressive left in Boston this past summer: The media exploded after the news hit of Pavement UNITED’s efforts, while then-candidate and Councilor and now-Mayor-elect Michelle Wu promoted their cause as part of her campaign.
Pavement UNITED and Darwin’s UNITED are both affiliate members of UNITE HERE New England Joint Board. The board has been a longstanding union in the Boston area through multiple mergers, labor trends, and leadership changes, rising from the remnants of needleworkers and most recently hotel workers. Lost in their efforts have been most food workers who serve you at restaurants and cafes, so much so that it has become a trope: the wayward barista or bartender, hopping from job to job with a restrained snarl and only gaining a higher…
