Baristas at the Little Dog coffee shop in Brunswick went on a one-day strike on Sunday to demand that the owner Larry Flaherty start negotiating in good faith. Local Brunswick legislators Sen. Mattie Daughtry (D-Cumberland) and Rep. Dan Ankeles (D-Brunswick) stopped by the picket to show their support. Workers from neighboring businesses showed their support by bringing them water and letting picketers use bathrooms.
“At the Sunday strike we saw the main difference between the owner and the workers in action. We are members of this community and he is not," said worker organizer Chris Cushing. " The community came out with tons of love and support. We received water, pizza, and tons of wonderful conversations. When push comes to shove, the community has our back."
The workers say Flaherty — who also owns the Metropolitan Coffee chain spanning Maine and New Hampshire — has refused to bargain in good faith on the union’s first contract and has failed to fix broken equipment. The workers voted unanimously in November to unionize with Workers United, which also represents Starbucks baristas.
"Working together is easy. That was confirmed by the generous amount of assistance on the picket line and cheerful words of encouragement people shouted from their cars as they drove by. It’s our boss that’s been making things tough for us," said worker organizer Jess Czarnecki. "We want to work, we want Little Dog to run smoothly, but that only happens when the owner begins to put caring action behind his currently empty words."