LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Another union is brewing in Louisville.
Sunergos Coffee employees at the local chain's four locations say the time for better pay and more protection is now.
Rebekah Jarboe has been a barista at Sunergos for four years. She said she and her coworkers’ dedication to the community and quality service should equal a seat at the negotiation table.
"We better serve our community when we know our needs are being met,” Jarboe said. "It's just very disheartening to really love what we're doing and the community we're serving and not feel secure in our own financial security."
Jarboe said she also wants security in workplace regulations for different situations - including irate customers, and paid time off. Jarboe recalled when she said she sprained her ankle.
"There wasn't a plan in place for me to be able to still get paid because I'm a hourly worker and I have to be here doing the work, but I literally could not stand on my ankle for 6 and a half hours," she said.
The move follows closely behind other recent unionization efforts - including at three Louisville Starbucks locations and Heine Brother's Coffee, another locally owned chain.
Unions aren't uncommon here in Louisville, but decades ago, the labor movement was even more powerful than it is today.
"There were definitely large strikes,” University of Louisville Law Professor Ariana Levinson said.
But, Levinson said the labor movement has taken a dip in recent years.
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the rate of union members in Kentucky has fallen behind the national rate for years, hitting a low 7.2% in 2021.
However, Levinson said the resurgence Louisville is seeing may be due to a new generation of workers.
"A lot of young people who moved here may have grandparents who may have been in the mine workers union,” she said. “There's a little bit higher awareness, I believe, among the young people in Louisville."
24-year-old Jarboe is one of those younger people, and she hopes their voices are heard.
"Hear us and respect us and understand the new boundaries that we're setting for ourselves,” Jarboe said.
Sunergos workers also released a pledge that states:
We are keenly aware of the value we create for Sunergos on a daily basis. The roles we play are crucial for consistently crafting high-quality products as well as producing the atmosphere of hospitality and service for which Sunergos brands itself and is known. Because Sunergos cannot exist as a profitable organization without our collective physical and emotional labor, we will no longer allow ownership and/or management to profit from our collective labor or individual identities — unless they give us a seat at the table.
In a release, workers laid out key improvements they're calling for:
- fair wages
- more predictable scheduling policies
- affordable healthcare
- changes that will "improve the quality of life for people of all races, genders, and countries of origin who work in the service sector"
The date to vote on the union has not been set.
WHAS11 contacted Sunergos several times Friday for comment but has not heard back as of this writing.
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