Anodyne Workers Win Union Election
Employees at the coffee company's four cafes in metro Milwaukee will now join union.
Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co. 224 W. Bruce St. Photo taken April 15, 2025 by Graham Kilmer.
Anodyne workers won their union representation election Wednesday.
Anodyne employees organized a union with the Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers Organization (MASH). In April, they filed for a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election after the company’s owners declined to recognize their union.
A majority of workers in the bargaining unit voted, 37 out of 50, and all voted in favor of union representation, according to a statement from MASH. Another seven voters not counted in the tally are subject to ballot challenges, MASH said.
Anodyne is owned by Fairwave Holdings, LLC. The firm, based in Missouri, bought Anodyne in 2023. The company owns a number of other hospitality brands and is run cooperatively. Anodyne founders, Matt McClutchy and Lacee Perry, became part-owners in Fairwave through the purchase. The whole company though, is owned by Missouri-based private equity firm Great Range Capital.
The union represents full-time and part-time baristas and cafe employees, event staff, roastery employees, and assistant general managers at Anodyne’s four cafes: Milwaukee Public Market, Wauwatosa (7471 Harwood Ave.), Bay View (2920 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.) and the Walker’s Point roastery (224 W. Bruce St.).
“This victory demonstrates that workers’ determination and unity can triumph,” Sabrina Prochaska, a shift lead at the Bay View cafe said in a statement. “I’m incredibly proud of my coworkers at Anodyne for standing together. Through our union and our contract we’re looking forward to building a stronger and more supportive workplace for all employees.”
The NLRB still has to certify the election. There remain disagreements between MASH and Fairwave over who was eligible to vote, with Fairwave saying five members of the bargaining unit were technically supervisors. MASH disagrees.
“The only way service and hospitality workers can secure living wages that deal with the cost of living crisis, win and defend decent benefits, guarantee fair schedules and decent hours, and ensure employment security is through a union contract,” MASH President Peter Rickman said. “Anodyne workers have set the standard for unity and strength on the road to unionization while demonstrating that any service sector workplace in Milwaukee can be organized and that every service and hospitality worker should unionize.”
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