Scene Report: Santa Cruz Verve Workers Union Launch Rally

On September 1st 2025, Verve Coffee workers announced their intent to unionize with United Food & Commercial Workers. Bay Area Current wrote about their union drive after its announcement. 

On September 5th at 11 a.m., Verve workers from the San Francisco and Santa Cruz locations held a rally in front of the original Verve Coffee location in Santa Cruz to celebrate their efforts and for a show of support for their organizing. 

We spoke to Verve workers and community supporters about their thoughts on the union going public, what they would like changed, and lessons on organizing. Here's what we heard.

Annika Mikk — SF Verve Worker

How does it feel to bring your organizing campaign out in public? 

It’s been really exciting to be public with it and be able to feel the support from the community instead of just being in private. I’ve heard a lot of customers asking questions of us and just being really supportive, and that’s nice to feel that instead of just in my apartment on Zoom.

What’s it like living in the Bay Area with your current wages and benefits at Verve? 

It definitely would not be possible if I didn’t share a studio apartment with my girlfriend who has a 9 to 5 job. I simply would not be able to work at Verve and live in San Francisco without splitting rent that way, it just wouldn’t be possible.

Angelina UC — Santa Cruz Verve Worker

How does it feel to bring this organizing campaign out in public? 

It’s super exciting. I’m excited to see all the support we haven’t [always] had behind us. It was a long time coming. We’ve been organizing for a while and we’ve been wanting to make gains and we want to be treated respectfully, and so for us to be public and for us to show them that we’re serious and we want to be treated with respect —it’s really exciting.

What was the hardest part of your job?

Not having transparency with the customers, especially with the 5% surcharge —they were not very transparent about it. So when people would ask about it sometimes they would be upset because we wouldn’t know how to answer it because we didn’t know what it was used for, it was very vague.

Sam Creighton & Sasha Pavy — Santa Cruz Verve Workers

How does it feel to bring this organizing campaign out in public? 

Sasha: It feels like our first win in a way, like it’s happening for real.

Sam: It was really exciting [having] something we’ve been in the quiet [about] for a while finally getting to be something that we show the community. We get to be proud about it, loud about, and it’s great to see everybody so excited.

What’s something you would like to see improved in your workplace? 

Sasha: I feel like I’d like to see their respect there, like not just saying that they respect but being able to feel that they do respect us. And a wage increase — I think everybody wants that.

Sam: Clear communications from higher-ups to everybody in the company and then just better wages. The MIT calculator has Santa Cruz County with a 1-person income and no children needing $3,899 in wages in order for them to have a liveable wage. Our entry pay is $16.50 - it’s just nowhere near enough to afford rent, to cover groceries, or to buy the coffee that we make. We need better wages.

L Adams — SF Verve Worker

What’s it like living in the Bay Area with your wages and health care? 

I don’t really get any health care from work, so that all comes out of pocket. It costs a lot and health care costs continue to rise, so that’s worrisome. I track every single expense because I don’t have much discretionary income. 

What advice do you have for workers who are attempting to unionize? 

Never accept that things are just the way they are. Anytime things feel unhealthy or not in support of a better version of yourself, always talk to people about it. Just being open and vulnerable with your coworkers leads to enough momentum to want to change things.

Odessa Cross & Phillip Elliott — Community Supporters

What made you come out to support the union launch today? 

Odessa: I’m a big supporter of unions. I go to Verve’s Coffee downtown frequently. So when I heard that their workers were attempting to unionize, I heard about the 5% service charge and how that wasn’t actually going to the workers’ health care and was going into the family [owner’s] coffers. That’s been a very obvious indignity. And then to hear they’ve been working to organize for a long time prior to this. I heard about the rally and it’s my day off, so I wanted to come in and show support to these people.

Phillip Elliott: I’m in DSA Santa Cruz. I like to support unions wherever they’re popping up and I want to do as much as I can to support labor organizing. I’m not speaking for the organization or anything, but I personally thought that the 5% charge thing was sort of confrontational or anti-worker. I think if they just raised their prices, then (they could have) done the right thing and paid out the benefits to the workers. But they make it this thing they present to the customers — in my mind that disincentivizes tipping a little bit, like ‘okay I’m already paying this extra charge, I might as well take out a little bit off of that (the tip)’