Anodyne Union Says Owners Cutting Wages Amid Contract Battle

Anodyne Sierra Thomas speaks at rally in support of a living wage and a union contract. Photo taken April 15, 2026 by Graham Kilmer.

A year after Anodyne Coffee workers organized a union, they say the owners are dragging their feet and refusing to bargain a contract that provides a livable wage.

Anodyne Coffee is owned by FairWave Holdings LLC, which is controlled by the Missouri-based private equity firm Midrange Capital. Workers started organizing Anodyne’s cafes with Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers Organization (MASH) after FairWave bought the coffee chain in 2023. Anodyne opened its first cafe in 1999.

In April last year, Anodyne workers sent a letter to FairWave asking the company to recognize the union they organized among the workforce of Anodyne’s three cafes: Milwaukee Public Market, Wauwatosa (7471 Harwood Ave.), Bay View (2920 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.) and the Walker’s Point roastery (224 W. Bruce St.). Ultimately, the matter proceeded to a National Labor Relations Board election, which workers won in June.

FairWave appealed the election results twice, putting off recognition and bargaining. The company, according to the organizers, continues to drag its feet as workers attempt to bargain a contract.

On Tuesday, the union held a rally outside the company’s Walker’s Point roastery, calling out FairWave for refusing to bargain in good faith and proposing wage cuts.

Sierra Thomas, a barista, said FairWave promised not to change anything that made Anodyne “special” when it bought the company. Since then, it has cut wages and hours — forcing some employees to leave — lowered standards and raised prices, she said. After workers decided “we all had enough” and unionized, the company pushed back against an organized workforce. “Just about every day they tell us some more new lies about why it is a bad idea for us to unionize,” Thomas said.

Katie Collier, a barista at the public market, started at Anodyne before the FairWave purchase. The starting wage used to be $15, and even that was difficult to live on; now it’s $12, she said.  “The cost of rent and utilities, groceries and healthcare keeps going up, but Fairwave decided our pay should go down,” Collier said.

“We work hard to offer competitive pay, strong benefits, paid time off, retirement support and flexibility because we believe FairWave is a place where people can build a sustainable career,” a spokesperson for FairWave told Urban Milwaukee. “We remain committed to being a good employer and to negotiating in good faith with MASH to reach an agreement that works for everyone. We’ve been actively bargaining since December, including more than 15 hours at the table so far.”

FairWave took months to respond to workers’ initial contract proposal, missing deadlines and cancelling meetings, Thomas said. When they did respond, the company countered with a deal that would lower wages even further and eliminate raises for the entire three-year term of the contract, said barista Marie Freres.

“How would you feel if your bosses, most of whom you had never met, decided that they were paying you and your co-workers too much money?” Freres said. “How would you feel if the sole reason that they cut your wages was to generate more profit for out-of-state investors?”

The spokesperson for FairWave said first contracts typically take a year to bargain, “the complexity of the work, not a lack of commitment or effort.”

The union and FairWave resume bargaining next week, said MASH President Peter Rickman.

“It’s up to [FairWave] whether they want to settle the fight at the bargaining table or out here in these streets. But no matter what FairWave decides to do at the bargaining table, Anodyne workers have decided to fight,” Rickman said. “And I’m inspired, because they’re ready to do whatever it takes, whatever it takes.”

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