Baristas at Three Brothers Coffee went on strike Tuesday morning.
Despite some reported resistance from the owner, Three Brothers Coffee became the first unionized coffee shop in Nashville in April 2022 through a secret ballot vote overseen by the National Labor Relations Board. But since unionizing, workers say they’ve had little success negotiating with ownership, and on Tuesday morning, employees began picketing outside the business.
“We are basically asking them to finalize negotiations, hold a vote for the contract as soon as possible, hopefully this week, and agree to our wage proposal of $16 an hour plus tip matching,” says Paige Lemon, an employee and union member at Three Brothers Coffee. Employees also want ownership to fully staff the shop again — Lemon says there are currently only six employees, and as of last week the only manager quit.
Starting pay at Three Brothers Coffee is currently $9 an hour — by most calculations, less than living wage.
Four of the six baristas picketed outside the shop Tuesday morning, and plan to continue the strike throughout the week. The shop is closed during the picket, although Cumberland Transit, an outdoor store next to Three Brothers under the same ownership, remains open.
A negotiations meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, where employees hope their demands will be met.
“A lot of us have been in the coffee world in Nashville for years,” says Lemon. “And basically what you do is you go to a shop, meet some cool people, make some good coffee and put up with it as long as you can, and when you get sick of the working conditions you go to the next shop. It’s pretty similar all around town.”
Starbucks unionization efforts have been picking up momentum all across the country, but have yet to reach Nashville. Three Brothers Coffee is independently owned, and employees hope their labor action could be a step toward changing how baristas are treated in Nashville for the better.
“We’ve been asked, ‘Why don’t you just leave if you don’t like it here?’” says Lemon. “And the fact is, we’ve been leaving. We’re ready to stay.”
TJ Wilt Jr., the owner of Three Brothers Coffee, was unable to return the Scene's request for comment in time for publication.
