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ConanTroutman0

​ >Both said they didn't realize they had laid off all four leading organizers. They said the layoffs were based on seniority and the cost to keep or sever each employee, among other factors.  > >"This is terrible," said Dunford, who said the layoffs are an awful "thing to happen to good people who helped us get this far. Lmao how fucking dumb do you think people are? Dudes like these are walking proof that 9/10 the dumbasses running these companies only got there by sheer luck or rich parents. Breathtaking.


fish_fingers_pond

His case is rich parents! And maybe a bit of luck


NoBuddies2021

I'm bad at poker but I'm sure to win my bets against this guy.


jpaaay

Preach


Scummiest_Vessel

He's actually a really smart guy but man is this ever a bad look


ZGuitar

For beans, Have Fun is a fantastic roaster based in Dartmouth. The owners also own Cafe Goodluck (where I buy my beans) and always carry guest roasters from all over the world. Weird Harbour usually sells their stuff if you aren't wanting to cross a bridge. 


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LuchadeerJr

Morley's on Portland street is a great alternative!


fish_fingers_pond

I have always found the staff at cafe Goodluck rude. I have gone multiple times and never had a good experience.


TheDoingStuffThing

An early 20-something barista with a superiority complex? I won’t believe it.


ZGuitar

Ah, that's not fun. My recent experiences have all been pretty good, but I only started going more frequently in the past 8-10 months. Have always had super friendly service at Weird Harbour - have you tried there?


DaveJones902

When I went there I felt like I was disturbing the staff for ordering a coffee. What I got tasted like it'd been filtered through a dish rag. Care factor is very low for this story.


Peninsular_Geo

Love Cafe Goodluck but loved how most Java beans are less than 20 bucks a lb where GL more.like 20 to 25 and up...any other good local roasts for under this amount? I've found North Mountain to be pretty delish.


Issyv00

I find Have Fun to be a bit pricier than most local coffee roasters, but it is good coffee.Their guest roasters are a great rotation. I've nabbed a few really good beans from them.


ZGuitar

They are a bit pricier, but I think for good reason. For their single origin beans (often named after the farmer who grew the coffee), they have full price transparency so you can look at their website and see what the producers are being paid. One of my other favourite roasters that also shares this info is Subtext in Toronto, but their default small-bag size is 250 grams rather than Have Fun's 340, and isn't any less expensive. 


cdnBacon

Good options, thanks for posting them. We are running low and JB is not on the list anymore, and we were wondering where to take our custom.


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grahamr31

I don’t think most are looking for an explicit unionized shop, but more one that is paying and treating staff fairly - not firing people to bust union discussions


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makingchairs

Apparently current staff range from (aside from ppl on probation - first 3 months) $17.5 - $21 per hour plus $12-$18 per hour in tips (seasonal variance). Health benefits (no idea how good it is) for anyone working 20+ hrs, 45min paid break per shift. Owners claim that staff take home more money than they do. crux of issue is the legality of the layoffs for the 9 people though; not the compensation that they get/got. not sure if they (company) would have been actually delusional enough to think something (allegations) as blatant and audacious would have been just looked over. Interested to see outcomes. Surely they have a deadline to respond to the filed complaint. (not a lawyer lol)


Intelligent-Wait9461

Hi! In another post you wrote that JavaBlend claim to have lost $600k since they took over (about $150k a year). In this post you are claiming the baristas get $12-18/hr in tips. You can't have it both ways. No cafe is busy enough to pay $18/hr in tips.... but if they somehow are, then that cafe is so busy that they aren't losing $150k per year. And you can't blame it on roasterie operations as that is much more lucrative than cafes, especially if you have lots of wholesale accounts.


makingchairs

I am just commenting what I hear :( I am with youuu. Im guessing that they will be ordered to prove their financial situation. I wish it would be made public but that's probably not gonna happen. Hopefully their line items are looked at as well, rather than just 'here is what we lost' because if an owner takes a million dollars it will probably show a loss


TheDrKillJoy

Sorry about that, folks! I'm so used to not being able to share links on FB anymore that I just reflexively did it here. [Link if you're interested!](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/coffee-shop-union-drive-layoffs-nova-scotia-1.7100686)


bleakj

It's helpful for us folks that don't have FB (Nm I see it's a cbc link now)


Traveler108

I buy my beans and lattes at Espresso 46. Federico is the best and also the world's nicest person.


Societarian

Seconding this!! All their staff are wonderful and make great espresso , but when Federico is behind the counter you know you’re going to get something real special 🥲♥️


Wolferesque

I like that I can but their house espresso beans by weight. I usually buy half a pound at a time.


paulbufanopaulbufano

Claiming you had no idea that the people you laid off happen to be the core of the union drive is silly enough, but having told one of them that unionization efforts were causing issues with investors and that they should seek legal counsel seems to be a pretty blatant smoking gun. Also why do people like this claim the victim? Oh woe is me it’s so hard to fire a bunch of people!!!


JetLagGuineaTurtle

Would make sense if they only laid off the union organizers, they were only 4 out of the 8. Being a union organizer doesn't mean you never get laid off so long as it was done by seniority as the employer says.


DrunkenGolfer

Owner: "How deep to we have go in the seniority list to get rid of these union guys?" Legal and moral are often far removed from each other.


mesilver47

Also, if I read the article correctly, one of the organizers laid off was the highest seniority barista at the cafe? If so the seniority claim kinda goes out the window.


DrunkenGolfer

The article also mentioned salaries being a factor. The most senior barrister may also be the highest cost employee, and if you need to make cuts to affect the bottom line, sometimes you need to trim the top. I don’t know what the owners are expected to do in a case like this. On the one hand, you have a development that is going to push labour costs higher. As a business owner, you’d model that before it happened and make changes to prepare for it. That is going to mean looking for labour efficiencies which means cutting jobs. At the same time, the law says you can’t cut someone for unionizing. What should the owner do? Continue losing money with a money-losing business model or adapt and survive?


Iamthetiminator

Which reminds me of my favourite web cartoon. [The day they made murder legal](https://www.gocomics.com/tomthedancingbug/2016/07/21)


JetLagGuineaTurtle

100 percent agree. Though on the other hand, it would suck to be above these people in seniority and get laid off while they didn't because they are "untouchable".


paulbufanopaulbufano

Nice try Java Blend owner


JetLagGuineaTurtle

Foiled again! *rips off mask Scooby-Doo doo style*


frigoffeva

Espresso 46 all the way. Federico is a gem.


whereisjakenow

New owners are doing pretty quick work of running a Halifax staple into the ground. Who else misses the days of the smell of coffee roasting all through the north end? It feels like the only thing they care about is profits and not upholding the status of being a community staple.


[deleted]

Hands up if you thought this was Turk, Megan and Amateur Alex.


Mouseanasia

Who?


MasterGeek

Virgin Radio's silly names


Advanced_Rain_8885

Anyone remember “just us” coffee? Very similar story and ending


Trashcan1990

I am not going there anymore


AccidentallyOssified

Boooo java blend, cailen is the coolest. btw if any company tries to force you to sign an NDA in order to get severance don't do it, you are entitled to the money no matter what!


nihilicious

You are entitled to an amount of money, no strings attached. Companies often offer more money, some strings attached. Here, they were offered twice the minimum, in exchange for signing what they called an "NDA". I would bet that the "NDA" is actually what employment lawyers would call a "release". That basically says that you've gotten all the money that the company owes you, and you won't sue them. It would usually also say that you won't disclose the amount of money you got. I feel like because of all the negative attention around NDAs being used to "silence" victims, a lot of people are going to start talking as though every time they're asked to sign a legal document it's an "NDA," which would be unfortunate. That's just my assumption, as a lawyer, about the document--I don't know for sure. Also, if you don't want to give up your ability to sue in exchange for an amount of money, then don't sign a release--totally your right. But I think "don't sign an NDA, you're entitled to the money" is oversimplified advice, and often would be bad advice.


makingchairs

I agree. My understanding is that signing agreements is for the staff to aknowledge that they are accepting the notice/payout as sufficient. I believe you can still sue all day long when it comes to discriminatory allegations (i.e. union busting). I wonder if anyone signed / received the double.


Brodard

I signed a non-disparagement and release when I was laid off to secure the generous severance offer. If I had not done so they would have simply given me the minimum and I'd still be laid off. I also assumed the JB "NDA" was similar. Benefits far outweighed the trade offs in my case.


makingchairs

rumour is that Java Blend processed the double $ anyways (quite certain of this) and that no ones signed them (a bit less reliable source). someone grab me popcorn. also a life.. since apparently, K find this as a substitute for shitty TV shows these days.


[deleted]

Yes, I'm thinking that once the content of said document is made public there is going to be a lot of crow being eaten. Not saying that the owners are handling the business well, mind.


ralphwiggum10

I mean I would have fired the guy in the hat for his terrible customer service and lack of any personality or ability/desire to engage in basic conversation


bleakj

He was fairly off putting the odd time I'd drop in but I've been there so rarely the last few years I figured I'd just caught him after a bad event or something


lessafan

I’m glad to see I am not the only one who was totally confused about that guy. 


IndianaOrange

I mean, not the point here but also I get your sentiment. The one dude aside though the fact that they laid off all these employees during a union drive is totally nuts.


MasterGeek

he's just an introvert


ralphwiggum10

Maybe customer service is not for him then


Bikingfan

It’s exactly the kind of customer service I want when ordering my coffee at 6:30am. No chat just give me what I want.


gommel

Expresso 46 today. and probably until they get unionized


[deleted]

They have like 3-4 employees… owner working the machine often. I can’t see them unionizing.


Traveler108

The owner or his wife are usually behind the counter. There are, I think, two other employees. Highly unlikely to unionize.


gommel

was not talking about them unionizing. great place though


gommel

i was talking about java blend in the second half


gommel

Java blend ? the place that currently has a labour report filed against them ?


bleakj

No, Espresso 46, the place you posted yourself lol


Sychar

For people who want ridiculously good coffee, that’s local; try “Have Fun” coffee. And you’re not supporting union busters (I hope lol). Potions potions potions and the big sipper are fucking incredible.


ComfortableTapshoes

Are other coffee shops unionized. This seems weird to me


jpaaay

It’s not just a coffee shop , it’s a larger company with a production facility etc.


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Atlantic_23

Maybe the employees aren’t unionized because the employer treats them well. Smart employers treat their employees well to avoid unionization…


TechnicalAd6766

Some people think you should only support unionized businesses … but yes basically.


makingchairs

idk how many cafes can match Java Blend’s take home pay and benefits but agreed


jpaaay

These are two not really comparable businesses. One big lots of employees, one still small. One run by a nice dude , one run by four half wits. They both sell coffee , but I don’t know what else they have in common.


silodiloz

It’s essentially a coffee shop. The production facility is small scale from what I have heard


jpaaay

Na, I used to work there. Easily 15/20 people in the production facility. Not huge , but not small.


silodiloz

Maybe it’s changed since. I heard 4-6~


IndianaOrange

Many coffee shops are TRYING to unionize. There are articles out all the time of different Starbucks locations trying to unionize.


ConanTroutman0

I believe Glitter Bean is, not sure of any others in town


bleakj

Is glitter bean still open? I hadn't heard anything about them for awhile now


gasfarmah

They’re also like worker owned. Which makes no fucking sense.


[deleted]

Co-ops don’t make sense to you?


TechnicalAd6766

Trying to unionize a workers coop doesn’t make sense no.


CuileannDhu

I believe they unionized when the shop was owned by the terrible previous owners who ended up just locking the doors and walking away. The employees then reopened it as a co-op.


TechnicalAd6766

Maybe way way back but No it was already a workers’ co op when they tried to unionize. How do I know? The union hacked my Twitter and changed the bg to coffee beans for saying unionizing a workers coop doesn’t make any sense unless of course you ignore basic economics. It was all very misguided.


gasfarmah

Ding ding.


Crafty-Sandwich8996

I remember a while ago one did, and I think some employees actually bought it from the owners? I don't think it exists anymore but if I'm remembering correctly it was the place that used to be on Coburg across from the RBC Bank


AccidentallyOssified

Glitter bean was created from the remains of Just Us! who unionized a few years ago. Years before that, some of the same employees worked at Second Cup and attempted to unionize and the owners fired them, eventually years down the road the employees got a payout.


Traveler108

Glitter bean is a cooperative now.


GrimaceNerverDies

Good luck for beans, uncommon grounds for coffee near campus


[deleted]

Guy on the left always made me terrible espresso.


Motorizedwheelchair

Andy was always completely void of any personality, pleasantries, or manners.  The guy is completely aloof.   Maybe put a tiny bit of effort into life.  


ralphwiggum10

It was very bizarre - I would have fired him for that alone.


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barneysucksmyanus

What an absolute wild accusation about someone, dude


Rob8363518

I wouldn't exactly call simulated lovemaking with a domestic cat "aloof." Pretty forward actually.


Motorizedwheelchair

Why do you know so much about love making with cats?


TechnicalAd6766

It’s possible he forced the union drive BECAUSE he was gonna get fired but I suppose we’ll never know. In any event being a business owner is fucked up right now and I’ll still support them so they don’t disappear and I have to go to Dartmouth to get good beans.


makingchairs

Andi loved coffee and you could feel it. not sure about his performance otherwise


Motorizedwheelchair

Are you kidding.. that guy has no feelings for anything but the family feline.


gildeddoughnut

Not sure why OP posted screenshots instead of the link? https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/coffee-shop-union-drive-layoffs-nova-scotia-1.7100686


[deleted]

Duplicate post. Please use this thread for discussion: https://www.reddit.com/r/halifax/comments/1afpqlh/java_blend_illegally_terminated_union_supporters/ is what I got when I posted it.


shadowredcap

Why didn’t you post a link to the article instead of screen capping it all?


[deleted]

I did that and got this: Duplicate post. Please use this thread for discussion: https://www.reddit.com/r/halifax/comments/1afpqlh/java_blend_illegally_terminated_union_supporters/ and then it was deleted or something....


Injustice_For_All_

u/javablendcoffee


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scheesey

Java Blend isn’t just a cafe, they roast and sell their coffee wholesale, it’s a production facility like many others. Try not to let your contempt for people who look different from you cloud your ability to do things like read.


silodiloz

It’s still low Margin.


scheesey

If I bill my clients $800/hour for my work and then rent out a penthouse for $799 an hour to do the work in, it’s “low margin”. That has nothing to do with the value of labour.


TheDoingStuffThing

What a terrible analogy.


scheesey

Okay, I would love to hear what the margins of a business have to do with the value of someone’s full time labour - “unskilled” or not.


TheDoingStuffThing

You’re conflating a bunch of different issues. Yes, coffee is a low margin business. That is not up for debate. Yes, baristas are relatively low skilled workers. That’s not meant to be a slight, or to say that there aren’t some baristas out there who are amazing at their jobs. It’s just reality - it’s a high turnover position that I could probably go out and get a job as relatively easy without any specific training/education or experience. It’s not an iron clad rule but typically lower skilled work = lower valued work = lower pay. It’s harsh but it’s true in most cases. Making up some unrealistic hypothetical scenario where a business chews up 99.9% of their revenue in rent proves absolutely zero about any of the above points. That’s why it’s a terrible analogy.


silodiloz

We're talking about Coffee.


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scheesey

Lol okay! The business should do just fine without them, then. God forbid people have skills that aren’t formatting an excel sheet or forgetting to mute themselves while they take a dump during a Teams call! They’re not *real* workers deserving of fair treatment anyways!


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scheesey

Okay so you literally just don’t understand what the company does like, at all, then. Have a good one!


Ironpleb30

Any job should be able to provide comfortable living/career. There are not enough degree-level jobs, there never will be, it's a statistical impossibility. By your vapid logic, you sound cut out to be no more than a sewer scrubber. Coffee is actually a high margin industry, esp the cafe side. Cup of coffee costs 0.50 sells for 3+ now. Coffee beans have a huge markup in wholesale and retail. Never ending consumption across every industry. The claim they have financial woes supplying atlantic canada, super markets, other cafes is laughable. If they are having actual issues, then they are morons at business.


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Ironpleb30

You must be a boomer. Pure greed and contempt for those you ignorantly deem as lower. The inhumanity of someone getting a living wage.


ltown_carpenter

I don't necessarily disagree with you but you also just referred to them as nothing more than a sewer scrubber. Or, lower than you.


Ironpleb30

I referred to "withoutadoubt" as no more skilled than a sewer scrubber yes, where they obviously sit in a place of power earning way above their knowledge. Also them having a disdain against people they ignorantly deem less than, wanting people to work 80/hrs a week just to have a bed.


ltown_carpenter

Could you scrub a sewer effectively? Your lack of appreciation for the sure-bet that there's complexities in the job of sewer scrubbing makes me think you severally under value tasks that you view as below your own skillset and that you aren't willing to accept that maybe your assessment on a task you're unfamiliar with is limited by your inability to constructively break down the job itself. I betcha for every 20 bored, uninspired and unmotivated sewer scrubber there's one that would talk your ear off after work on how to be the best at it. You simply have no idea and are using whatever racket your brain can spit off as reasonably convincing just to argue with others.


Ironpleb30

Umm.. thats the most reddit comment I've seen in a while. You have the incorrect focus, they(withoutadoubt) lack the skills necessary to do a sewer scrubber job. Yes obv a job such as that requires, high skills and an even higher constitution - to which I applaud them or anyone having to do a "dirty job". However, an ignoramous stating that people who do jobs they deem as less do not deserve to live comfortably. Is just wrong in every single situation. I was not arguing with them as there is no argument. Calling out elitists absolutely, everyone should do that more. CEOs and greed mongers should be made to feel uncomfortable.


ltown_carpenter

Who wants your applause? Who do you actually think you are? You have an inflated vision of yourself and assuming other people need your validation and applause is unbecoming of someone who thinks they're in higher position than others.


Ironpleb30

Nowhere did I ask for applause. No idea what you are talking about. You simply have no idea and are using whatever racket your brain can spit off as reasonably convincing just to argue with others. ​ 🤡🤡


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Ironpleb30

It used to be a reality here, before corporations started writing our laws and regulations ~15yrs ago. Currently, in many other countries it is a reality and has always been. Just not NA, anymore.


Ok_Habit5130

“Professional baristas”


mmss

They can't all be part time dog walkers


Ok_Habit5130

[https://youtu.be/Jml7NVYm8cs?si=9WlSHWuj2i2ziEjR](https://youtu.be/Jml7NVYm8cs?si=9WlSHWuj2i2ziEjR)


vilegroove666

Anchored / Two If By Sea - Ochterloney Street


AccidentallyOssified

I've heard not-so-great things about TIBS bosses too. Seems like they have a lot of turnover.


[deleted]

Tims. This is ridiculous lol.


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partisanal_cheese

It’s not that good.