Update on Election Details

6/10/22

Dear Intellis -

I am writing with an update on the Petition for Election filed by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1220 to represent certain employees at our Chicago coffeebars and Chicago Roasting Works.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, the filing of this Petition starts a process with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to determine which employees may be eligible for representation. Because Intelligentsia believes that there are differences in the operations at our coffeebars and at CRW, we requested two separate bargaining units: one for coffeebar employees and one for CRW employees. In addition, Local 1220 is seeking to represent employees who are supervisors. By law, supervisors cannot be included in a bargaining unit. Unfortunately, Local 1220 has refused our requests on these two issues which forces us to present evidence to the NLRB and ask for a determination. While Local 1220 refuses to acknowledge our basic business structure and is forcing us to a hearing, we are committed to the operations of Intelligentsia and abiding by the law.

On Wednesday, the NLRB confirmed a hearing date for Tuesday, June 21st. At the hearing, Local 1220 and Intelligentsia will present evidence and then both parties will submit written position statements. The NLRB will then issue a Decision and Direction of Election. We cannot predict when the NLRB will issue its Decision, but it may take three to four weeks after the end of the hearing. Once the NLRB issues its Decision we will have much more information to share about the election including who is eligible to vote and when/where secret ballot voting will occur.

We are all continuing to operate our Chicago coffeebars and the Chicago Roasting Works throughout this process and I am grateful for all that you do to continue to produce and serve extraordinary coffee to our customers each day.

Over the next several weeks, we will share information about how a vote to have Local 1220 represent some of our employees would affect you, your supervisors, and all of us at the company. As we share this information, I encourage everyone to embrace one of our core values: Be Curious. Curiosity is something that helped Intelligentsia reimagine what is possible with coffee – from our Direct Trade sourcing model to creating a culinary coffee experience for customers in our coffeebars. As we go through this process together, I urge you to Be Curious. Ask lots of questions of us and the union. You may be surprised by what you learn. We want everyone who will vote to feel confident and informed on election day.

We also want all eligible voters to participate on election day. This week in Chicago we saw baristas at two Starbucks locations vote “No” on a union’s efforts to represent them. The votes at the Starbucks in Logan Square and on Randolph / Wabash and many others across the country are often very close. So we encourage all eligible voters to cast a ballot because every vote is important.

Thank you for everything that you do each day in furtherance of our mission to make extraordinary coffee an agent of change. In the coming weeks, please be curious, ask lots of questions, and get all the facts so that those of you who will vote can make an informed decision on election day. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to our People & Culture team.

James