Barboncino, a Brooklyn Pizza Restaurant, Votes to Unionize

Food|Barboncino, a Brooklyn Pizza Restaurant, Becomes a Union Shop

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/26/dining/barboncino-brooklyn-pizza-union.html

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July 26, 2023Updated 6:32 p.m. ET

Barboncino, a Neapolitan-style pizza restaurant in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, has become the first unionized pizzeria in New York City after its workers unanimously voted to approve the formation of a union.

The restaurant staff began organizing more than a year ago with Workers United, which has also supported the employees who are organizing at Starbucks stores. On May 22, staff asked the pizzeria’s owners to formally recognize the union and filed for an election with the National Labor Relations Board. The votes, 26 to 0, were counted on Wednesday; 37 employees were eligible to vote.

Barboncino’s workers will now have to negotiate a contract with the owners, Jesse Shapell and Emma Walton, who bought the business last year. “We are aware of the results of the election, and we are reviewing the next steps of the process,” Mr. Shapell said in an email.

Workers said they’d like higher wages and benefits, including higher minimum starting hourly rates and health care assistance. But they’d also like consistent schedules, protections from unjust disciplinary action and more direct involvement in establishing health and safety protocols.

“We’re going for the best deal we can get for every issue across the board,” said Mike Kemmett, 28, who has worked as a bartender in the restaurant for about two years.

There’s been an increase in labor organizing for restaurants in recent years as the pandemic, inflation and a national discourse on racial inequity have highlighted the low pay and harsh conditions that many American workers face. But unions in restaurants are rare because high employee turnovers make it challenging to build an employee base.

Mr. Kemmett joined the unionization effort after an incident in June 2022 with the restaurant’s previous owner. The basement flooded after pipes, some with sewage, leaked. Mr. Kemmett said that he and a busboy spent hours cleaning out the water by using buckets and were so dirty they had to throw out their clothes. But the owner asked Mr. Kemmett to stay and serve customers. When he refused, he said the owner made it sound like he was fired.

This was “a public-health nightmare,” Mr. Kemmett said.

In the kitchen, cooks like Jared Berrien said they start at about $18 to $20 an hour. Mr. Berrien said he sometimes gets burned while working with the hot oven. For him, getting some help in enrolling for health care is important.

“Every workplace should be unionized, regardless of the industry,” said Mr. Berrien, 27, one of the lead organizers. He added that the workers at Barboncino would like to help others who want to form unions at their restaurants. “Hopefully, we’ll be an example.”

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