December 13, 2023
ReAnimator Coffee/Instagram
Unionized workers at the five ReAnimator Coffee locations in Philly have authorized a strike should they not come to an agreement with ownership by Dec. 14. Above, the ReAnimator location in Fishtown
ReAnimator Coffee's union is prepared to strike should a deal with ownership not be reached on Thursday. With five locations in Philly, 92% of the union's bargaining unit voted to authorize a strike.
The Philadelphia Joint Board of Workers United shared details about negotiations between ReAnimator Coffee's ownership and the unionized employees, represented by Local 80, in a social media post on Monday. Local 80 also represents workers at Elixr Coffee, Ultimo Coffee Roasters and Vibrant Coffee Roasters.
The post claims ReAnimator's owners initially offered a starting rate of $10.75. According to the post, when the bargaining team asked the company's owner, Mark Capriotti, if they could live off of that rate, he allegedly responded, "We are not the same people as you."
While the post claims the latest offer is a rate of $11.29, Capriotti disputed the account. He wrote to the Inquirer that the current guaranteed rate for workers is $17 an hour, with a Dec. 8 proposal to the union increasing the rate to $19 an hour.
Capriotti also insisted that his quote was taken out of context. "As we said at that time, it was not intended to suggest any disrespect for our workers," Capriotti wrote. "We were simply trying to address the fact that owners and workers have different roles in the company that can’t be directly compared."
A strike may be prevented if the union and ownership reach a deal. That's what happened a couple weeks ago with workers at Elixr, who reached a contract agreement after a lengthy seven-hour bargaining session with management.
