It Could Happen Here – "Strikes, Walkouts, and Union Busting At Nestlé's Blue Bottle"

Date: December 16, 2025
Host: Be A Wong
Guests: Alex Pine (President, Blue Bottle Union), Abby Sato (Secretary Treasurer, Blue Bottle Union)
Network: Cool Zone Media & iHeartPodcasts

Episode Overview

In this episode, host Be A Wong welcomes back Alex Pine and Abby Sato, leaders of the independent Blue Bottle Union, to discuss a turbulent year of strikes, union organizing, and intense union-busting tactics at Blue Bottle Coffee—a specialty coffee chain owned by Nestlé. The conversation recounts walkouts, the struggle for better workplace conditions, the dramatic firings of key organizers, and the sometimes absurd extremes of company retaliation. The episode highlights both the challenges and victories of worker-led organizing, emphasizing solidarity, resistance, and the ever-adaptive tactics of corporate power.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Background and Union Formation

• Union Beginnings (03:35): Blue Bottle Union was formed in May 2024 at all six Greater Boston locations and expanded to four East Bay, CA, shops by July 2025.
• Why Unionize?
  "Bosses can be petty tyrants... Sometimes it seems like the only reason that they got into being a boss is because they want to be a petty tyrant but don't have the soul for politics anyways." – Alex Pine (03:27)
• Nestlé as Parent Company: Discussion of Nestlé's notorious labor practices and ongoing controversies.

Walkouts and Escalating Actions

• Multiple Walkouts:
  • Sept 2024: Over the unjust firing of a Harvard Square union rep.
  • Jan 2025: After Blue Bottle refused negotiations impacting workers' tips at the Prudential Center—potentially costing employees hundreds of dollars/month.
  • May 2025: A walkout over company’s unilateral installation of security cameras and refusal to negotiate.
  • Spontaneous Walkout Over Technical Labor Law: After the firing of a co-worker, staff walked out immediately, even though the violation was technical (failure to negotiate serious discipline per prior practice). (07:36)
• Solidarity in Action:
  "If we don't walk out right now, then what is the point?" — Abby Sato (09:11)
  "Union is friendship and friendship is unions. And when your friend gets fired, you should be able to walk out." — Abby Sato (09:46)

The November 2025 Strike

• Catalyst: The firing of three key organizers—Abby Sato, Nora, and Ashley—for dubious or petty reasons.
• Example of Retaliatory Firing:
  On the record, I was fired because I wore green pants... there's nothing worse than waking up at 4:30 to go to your opening shift at your stupid cafe job to then clock in and be immediately hit with separation forms because you wore green pants three weeks ago." — Abby Sato (11:08)
• Duration & Impact: Both Boston and East Bay stores went on a four-day strike, with 5/6 Boston cafes closed—managers had to staff the only open location.
• Company Tactics:
  • Escalating union-busting; using turnover as a strategy; refusing to negotiate.
  • "They are so scared. They are scared shitless. And they don't know what to do about it. And they're breaking glass left and right trying to maintain power. But...the solidarity we have...cannot be broken by management." – Abby Sato (27:10)

Management’s Union-Busting & Bargaining Obstruction

• Delay & Obstruction Tactics:
  • Demanding union split costs of bargaining spaces, even as an independent union (20:09).
  • Refusal to meet in any party's office, resulting in meetings in college conference rooms, city hall, and even WeWork spaces.
  • Refusal to move past wage floor for negotiations—after a year, company only offers to maintain current $18/hour, retaining right to reduce at will, despite union requesting $30/hour (21:25).
• Absurdity of Management Logic:
  • Use of bizarre analogies and shifting justifications for control (13:56).
  • Dismissal of workers' rent burden issues by suggesting it's due to "too many streaming services" (31:56).
• Proposed Management Rights Clause:
  • A sweeping clause asserting total managerial authority over every conceivable aspect of employment, prompting incredulous reactions from union leaders (35:34).

Theoretical & Emotional Reflections

• Power, Eloquence, and Despotism:
  • Discussion referencing David Graeber’s work on violence, power, and eloquence in authority (18:54).
  • Corporate reliance on brute authority over thoughtful negotiation: "The more power you have, the less eloquence you have to have." – Be A Wong (18:54)
• Corporate Fragility:
  • "The moment you try to claw it away from them, they see how fragile it is... they have to write all this shit down that they think they’ve always been able to do." – Be A Wong (36:44)
• Why Persistence Matters:
  • "It’s not tough for people that we work with to realize that they’re getting a bad deal and that the reason that the job sucks is because they don’t get paid enough to live in the city." – Alex Pine (30:42)

Memorable Anecdotes

• The Green Pants Firing:
  "Firing Abby was generous. Actually. She should have been put to death for the crime of wearing green pants." – Alex Pine (11:46) (sarcastic)
• Managers Running Cafes During Strike:
  "I don't think a single latte went out correctly that day. But hey, at least they can still collect their $9 per latte." – Abby Sato (27:48)
• Manager on TikTok:
  • Description of a manager ignoring work to watch a TikTok "mob boss’s wife" story for 45 minutes while opening the store (24:37).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Corporate Control:
  "They never say where they believe this right comes from. They all make, like, an argument for naturalism where, like, we are vested by the universal power of management to be able to do this." – Alex Pine (35:39)
• On Strike Solidarity:
  "The solidarity that we have between our co-workers, it just cannot be broken by management." – Abby Sato (27:10)
• On Fighting Authority:
  "Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks. It leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear... The day will come when all these skirmishes and battles, these moments of defiance, will have flooded the banks of the Empire’s authority, and then there will be one too many. One single thing will break the siege." – Be A Wong, reading from Andor (41:36)

Important Segments & Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|---------| | 02:11 | Introduction of guests & union background | | 04:13 | Context: Nestlé's history & Blue Bottle's union campaigns | | 05:22 | Early walkouts & the lead-up to strike actions | | 07:36 | Technical labor law violation & spontaneous walkout | | 09:46 | The meaning of union solidarity — "union is friendship" | | 11:08 | The "green pants" firing and escalation of union busting | | 13:12 | Management's control over dress code and union memorabilia | | 20:09 | Company tactics: refusing neutral bargaining spaces | | 21:25 | Blue Bottle's insulting wage counter in bargaining | | 27:10 | Aftermath of the November strike; impact on store operations | | 30:42 | Reflections on how easy it is to see through corporate tactics; barista rent burden stats | | 35:34 | Reading and discussion of the draconian "management's rights" clause | | 41:36 | Closing reflection: resisting tyranny with hope and persistence |

What’s Next & How to Support

• Call to Action:
  • If you work at or frequent Blue Bottle, reach out to the union to help with organizing (bluebottleunionmail@gmail.com).
  • To support the strike fund: tinyurl.com/bbiu-strike.
  • Ongoing boycott of Blue Bottle products until wrongful terminations are reversed and contract is secured.
  • Read bargaining updates and more: bluebottleunion.org

Conclusion

This episode offers a raw and often humorous look at organizing under a hostile corporate conglomerate. Despite intimidation, legal maneuvering, and surreal workplace discipline, the Blue Bottle Union has stayed united, escalating actions and building support. Their experiences serve as a guide and inspiration for other workers: change is possible, even when the deck seems stacked.

“You can fight your own bosses too. And you can beat them. And you can watch them running around in terror like fucking chickens with their head cut off. And you can get shit from them that they never would have wanted to give you in the first place.” — Be A Wong (41:57)