Strike averted: Elixr Coffee’s union and owner reach a tentative first contract

Hours after announcing its intent to strike on Thursday, Elixr Coffee’s union settled on a tentative first contract with the shop’s owner, Evan Inatome. The agreement came after more than a year of negotiating, at the end of a 7-hour bargaining session that stretched past midnight early Friday morning.

Workers will vote next week on the contract, which includes across-the-board raises, a higher starting wage for the lowest-paid workers, increased paid time off, and cost-of-living adjustments that exceed inflation. Local 80, which represents Elixr Coffee’s union as well as unions at several other independently owned coffee shops in Philadelphia, is recommending the union’s 25 members ratify the contract.

“Local 80 applauds the hard work and dedication of its Bargaining Committee as well as the willingness of owner Evan Inatome to settle a first contract that will go leaps and bounds in transforming industry standards,” the union said in a statement.

“To achieve a democratic ‘buy-in’ from a workforce is a really special thing not all companies get to experience,” Inatome said in a separate statement. “It was a really difficult process that ultimately I am honored to be a part of. I think our package goes a long way in improving the job of a Barista. We’re taking a giant step together.”

This is the second contract negotiated by Local 80. The first was at Korshak Bagels, which closed earlier this year; owner Phil Korshak said the closure was “long in the coming,” citing the inability to make ends meet while maintaining reasonable prices and paying fair wages.

While Local 80 celebrated the win on social media Friday, it acknowledged there was more work ahead: Negotiations are ongoing between owners and unions at ReAnimator and Ultimo, and more are set to begin at Vibrant Coffee Roasters, where workers recently voted to unionize.