Update on Hearing + Election

6/17/22

Dear Intellis -

I want to again thank our Chicago Roasting Works employees who attended our Sky Deck talk yesterday. It was great to see everyone and share some information about the benefits that we offer employees and how those benefits might change for union members should the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1220 be elected. We are working to get similar information to our Chicago retail team so please be on the lookout for a message next week.

As I mentioned last week, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is carefully reviewing the Petition for Election. At a hearing on Tuesday, the NLRB will consider two significant issues: the differences in the operations at our coffeebars and CRW and the inclusion of supervisors as employees the union seeks to represent. After Intelli and Local 1220 present evidence, the NLRB will decide these two significant issues and their decision will be binding on all of us.

Local 1220 may ask some of you to testify at the hearing on Tuesday. You may even receive a subpoena from the union’s representative. The union is making these decisions on their own, including who to contact. This is not something Intelligentsia is part of. If you have questions about the subpoena process, we are required by law to direct you to the union. If you are called to testify, your responsibility will be to answer the questions you are asked to the best of your ability – honestly and based on your knowledge of our operations.

Following the hearing, Intelli and Local 1220 can submit written statements (briefs) to the NLRB that further explain our positions. We expect a decision from the NLRB shortly after those briefs are submitted. That decision will include who is eligible to vote, the date, time and location of the election, and when the ballots will be counted. We will let you know these details as soon as they are available.

In the meantime, I continue to encourage everyone to Be Curious – ask questions, get answers, and for employees who will vote, to make an informed decision about whether you really want and need this union to represent you here.

This weekend Intelli will celebrate Juneteenth as an official company holiday for the first time. June 19th marks the anniversary of General Gordon Granger's arrival in Galveston, Texas to inform enslaved African Americans of their freedom and put into effect the Emancipation Proclamation which had been issued more than two and half years earlier. Juneteenth commemorates the date that enslaved Africans were officially pronounced free. I hope you take some time this weekend to celebrate this important day in our history.

James