BRUNSWICK, Maine — Employees at Little Dog Coffee Shop in Brunswick are renewing calls for good-faith union negotiations more than five months after the staff voted to unionize.
Last week, workers at the small cafe in downtown Brunswick held a one-day strike to call attention to what they call unfair labor practices by the store's ownership, Flaherty Retail of Maine.
"We'd like for basic safety measures to be put in place, especially when it comes to maintaining our employment, having a safe environment to work in, making sure our workers are set up so they can safely handle food, and clean safely," Sophie Creamer, an employee at Little Dog said.
Employees have filed three complaints with the National Labor Relations Board in recent months and say ownership has not been negotiated in good faith.
"I think first getting it fixed up, getting enough people hired on so we can actually maintain our business throughout the summer. And then making sure people who work here can stay working here by giving them proper benefits and wages," Little Dog employee Chris Cushing said.
Employees allege multiple pieces of equipment have remained broken, and some items have not been restocked, requiring staff to cross out large portions of the menu inside the store.
"We are out of most of our teas, we don't have CO2 for our Italian sodas or the lotus drinks. Our decaf burs for the espresso are broken," Creamer said.
"I don't think it's ridiculous that workers are asking for their equipment that used to work before we won our union vote to be fixed and working properly," employee Jessica Czarnecki added.
The store's owner, Larry Flaherty, is pushing back however on claims of unfair labor practices and not bargaining in good faith.
In an email Monday, Flaherty said he has met multiple times with union leadership and was surprised to learn of the allegation. He said it was not clear to him why staff went on strike.
"They offered 16 pages of non-economic proposals. Regrettably, upon our closer review, their list of demands had many inaccuracies and/or were inapplicable to Little Dog, due to what appeared to be an amateurish cut and paste job of proposals Workers United had perhaps made to Starbucks in other bargaining," Flaherty wrote.
Employees have also expressed concern over issues including a broken air-conditioner, dish sanitizing machine, and a leaking espresso machine.
"Other items have been repaired, some parts had to be ordered and replaced, some had to be worked on. In all reality, like in all other businesses, things break and get repaired," Flaherty wrote.
Flaherty adds that prior to the union vote, he offered to raise wages from $9 to $14/15 per hour and include a benefits package, however, Flaherty said employees did not accept that proposal.
Flaherty also alleges miscommunication over when bargaining negotiations would take place. A new contract has still not been reached.
"As we have made abundantly clear we are ready willing and able to negotiate with the union representatives. Unfortunately, some of the union representatives to make false statements and create a victim narrative based on those falsehoods to justify their need of a union," Flaherty wrote.
Union members that spoke with NEWS CENTER Maine disagree, however, and say they have not felt heard during the several union negotiations that have taken place.
"Those meetings have been a little frustrating on our part," Creamer said. "We come out of those meetings feeling a little disrespected, not heard, we just hope the owner can take it as seriously as we take it."
According to Czarnecki, in recent months, employees have had hours cut, store hours have been limited, and schedule changes have been made.
"What could remedy this is coming in and sitting down with us and actually bargaining with us in good faith, and listening," Creamer said.
Employees at Little Dog say they are not planning any additional strikes, and want to continue serving the community. It's unclear when union negotiations will continue.