“I am very excited about our win. Being one of the first fast food restaurants to do this definitely proves a point for the whole country that we can do this,” said Samantha Smith, an 18-year-old crew member who voted on Thursday. doing so and improving the lives of future generations.” Smith, who has worked at Chipotle in Lansing for two years, earns $13.33 an hour.
“At Chipotle, our employees are our greatest asset, and we are committed to listening to their needs and continuing to improve their workplace experience,” said Laurie Shallow, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Chipotle. “We are disappointed that the staff at Restaurant Lansing, MI, chose to have a third party speak on their behalf because we continue to believe that working directly together is best for our employees.”
Schalow also noted that Chipotle offers its employees industry-leading benefits such as competitive pay, debt-free grades, tuition reimbursement up to $5,250 annually, health benefits and quarterly bonuses for all employees. Last year, she said, the company paid $37 million in bonuses to nearly 100,000 workers. The company owns nearly 3,000 restaurants in the United States.
Workers at Chipotle in Lansing cited underpaid wages and schedule as motivation for their campaign. They said some workers in their store earn about $13 an hour and don’t get enough hours to buy basic necessities. Before advancing for union elections, organizers said some workers were sometimes scheduled for one day a week. They claimed that during most shifts, some workers had to take on additional jobs outside of their normal responsibilities, such as operating the cash register or passing the car while preparing food.
“There is rarely a turnaround where anyone in the store works in just one position,” said Harper McNamara, a 19-year-old crew member and union organizer who earns $13.60 an hour. “I had to score cash and prepare hot and cold food at the same time.”
Pro-union workers also said they wanted a voice in their working conditions, alleging that the company retaliated against one of the workers by firing them the day after they asked for a raise.
“It would be good if workplace issues were brought up and addressed, but they are not,” said Atulia Dora Lasky, 23-year-old crew member and union organizer at Chipotle in Lansing. “They say ‘ask us about things directly,’ but if you ask someone directly, they just ignore you. That made it very clear that a one-on-one relationship with the employer is not viable.”
Thursday’s vote was the latest in a series of efforts by workers to organize after the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
The pandemic has led to significant disruption in the labor market, and there has been a dramatic reorganization in the relationship between workers and employers in the past two years. The recent shortage of labor has given workers enormous power to demand better wages and benefits and also to form unions. However, while there has been a spike in union election petitions this year, campaigns have worked to unite a small portion of these companies’ workforce. Many face a long way before they can achieve full unions.
For years, unions have waged expensive lobbying campaigns, such as SEIU’s Fight for $15, to unite the fast-food industry’s union chains like McDonald’s and Burger King, and push management to sit at the bargaining table with workers. But these efforts did not result in electoral victories. Most of the gains unions claimed were in the form of minimum wage increases in many cities and states.
Since applying for union elections, Chipotle has brought in managers from across the Midwest and an outside consultant to discuss working conditions and unions with workers in private conversations.
Last month, Chipotle Site closed In Augusta, Maine, which has filed for a union election, hours before the union and management are scheduled to hold a National Labor Relations Board hearing on the logistics of a possible election. The company said the shutdown was due to “employment challenges,” but the union claimed the shutdown was a “union breach” intended to have a chilling effect on regulation at Chipotle.
“Today’s Chipotle victory provides more evidence that the victories for Starbucks and Amazon have ignited a fuse among low-wage service workers across the country,” said John Logan, professor of labor studies at San Francisco State University. It also shows that this generation of workers is not easily intimidated by store closings and other anti-union tactics. We could be on the cusp of a new workers’ movement.”
In August, Chipotle also agreed to pay $20 million to New York City workers to settle charges that the company violated scheduling and sick leave laws for more than four years, affecting 13,000 employees. In response to the settlement, Scott Powright, Chipotle’s chief restaurant officer, said the company had increased wages across the country last year and introduced new policies.
The workers, who have been organizing since late 2021, cited a wave of union victories at Starbucks, in Michigan and around the US, as inspiration for their campaign. More than 230 Starbucks locations have voted to join unions since last December.
“After seeing the wins at Starbucks, it was like, ‘Oh my God, we can make this happen,’” Smith said. “A lot of young people are in favor of joining unions but they think that will never happen here. This realism is what frustrates many of us now. Getting this far shows us that we have to try, because we can succeed.”
Workers voted to join Teamsters Local 243, after speaking with several national federations, saying the Teamsters have the most resources to help them.
Sean M. O’Brien, President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, said in response to the news that Chipotle workers voted to join a union with Teamsters on Thursday. “It is time for the workers of this country to take back what is theirs.”
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