Laid-off Java Blend staff say they were terminated for union drive, but company disputes it

Employees recently laid-off by a north-end Halifax coffee shop say they were illegally terminated for trying to start a union, but the company's owners say financial difficulties are to blame.

On Wednesday, Service Employees International Union Local 2 filed an unfair labour practice complaint with the Nova Scotia Labour Board on behalf of nine Java Blend workers terminated last week.

They allege the company's owners violated sections 53 and 58 of the Trade Union Act by "terminating union organizers in retaliation under the guise of layoffs required to maintain financial stability." 

The complaint asks that all severed workers be reinstated to their former positions and reimbursed for lost wages and benefits.

"We believe our terminations are a direct result of orchestrated retaliation from Java Blend aimed at crushing our workers' rights," said former employee and organizer Cailen Pygott, who worked for the company for over six years prior to being terminated last week. 

In a post shared to social media last week, the company cited financial difficulties made worse by the pandemic as the reason for the layoffs, saying they were "the only way to avoid closing our cafe doors permanently." 

Java Blend has been a fixture on North Street for over 30 years.

The company is now owned by Joe Dunford, Alex Lee, Adam Bose and Ibrar Ul Haq Malazai, who also own and operate Cortado Tasting Room in Bedford, a downtown Java Blend location and a coffee roasting facility in Dartmouth.

A union certification vote involving employees at all four locations was held last June, but the ballot box remains sealed following an objection from Java Blend's owners, who questioned the scope of the bargaining unit.

Pygott was one of the lead organizers of the union drive, along with Emily Kristensen, Em Cooper and Andy Mawko. All four were among those laid off last week.

Organizers say they sought to form a union to protect their rights as workers, to prevent erratic scheduling and having hours cut without notice, and to improve health and safety measures.

They were inspired to organize, in part, due to efforts from employees at Pete's Frootique in Halifax, who recently ratified their first collective bargaining agreement.

"Java Blend has been a pillar in many different communities for nearly a century, and if this orchestrated attack can happen to us, it can happen to any other local café or business," said Pygott. 

On Wednesday, co-owners Dunford and Lee strongly denied allegations the company laid off workers because of their attempts to unionize.