Bruegger's Bagels employees picket outside the franchise's South Riverside Drive location on June 15, 2024, in Iowa City. CREDIT BRUEGGER'S WORKERS UNITED
Two Bruegger’s Bagels locations in the Corridor have become the first in the nation to unionize, asking for fair pay and better managerial conditions. The bagel franchises at 708 S. Riverside Drive in Iowa City and 404 1st Avenue in Coralville are both part of the new union, known as “Bruegger’s Workers United.” Nearly a […]
Two Bruegger’s Bagels locations in the Corridor have become the first in the nation to unionize, asking for fair pay and better managerial conditions. The bagel franchises at 708 S. Riverside Drive in Iowa City and 404 1st Avenue in Coralville are both part of the new union, known as “Bruegger’s Workers United.” Nearly a dozen part- and full-time employees from both restaurants picketed outside the South Riverside location on June 15, in an effort to draw attention from the national brand. Similar union efforts occurred last year with Iowa City's downtown Starbucks location. Juniper Hollis, a former worker at both unionizing Bruegger's locations, filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on June 3. Just before that, however, the franchise closed the Coralville location for maintenance. Ms. Hollis, who started working at Bruegger's in early 2024, said she and other employees began to notice pay disparities in the spring.“It started as us just kind of asking some questions around the other workers, like ‘How much are you getting paid? What did you start at? Have you gotten a raise?’” Ms. Hollis said. “I was curious about what other people were getting paid, because I knew that what I was getting paid wasn't enough, and couldn't imagine how other people had been living on that amount, too.”
Thank you to everyone who showed up and who honked for Bruegger's Workers United this morning. @Brueggers, listen to the community! We're here, and we are not going away! pic.twitter.com/muwKwChwnq
— Bruegger's Workers United (@BrueggersWU) June 15, 2024
However, once the main company heard this was happening, Ms. Hollis said, they made efforts to dissuade employees from unionizing. She said the company found out about the plans to unionize about a week before Bruegger’s Workers United went public in late May. “There's been lots of obstacles. Bruegger’s reacted pretty violently with their union-busting tactics. Things like having new employees come in who were anti-union to talk specifically to workers about unions and how they're bad,” Ms. Hollis said. “They tried to give us small raises to try to counteract any interest in the union. These raises were 15 to 25 cents, max.” The union petition was accepted by the NLRB June 21. Although Bruegger’s Workers United currently only has about five confirmed participants, Ms. Hollis said, they hope to gain more members ahead of the official union entry vote July 9.Although the downtown Iowa City location and those in Cedar Rapids have not yet made any official union announcements, Ms. Hollis said she believes those locations will eventually join as well. She said it started with just the South Riverside and Coralville locations because those two frequently share employees. “We're really trying to get in touch with the holdouts, the people who expressed interest at one point who are now less interested just because of what they've seen happen to other people who showed interest in the union,” Ms. Hollis said. “I think [more will join] once this news is out, and enough people hear about it.”
