Digesting the loss
of The Coffee Shop
Our Perspective
For Retail Workers,
Difficult Times
in a Seemingly
Strong Economy
By Stuart Appelbaum, President
Retail, Wholesale and Department
Store Union, UFCW
Twitter: @sappelbaum
While the economy seems to be doing
well, and retail companies, their CEOs,
and their stockholders seem to be doing
well, there’s a group that’s in danger of being left
behind; retail workers, many of whom find daily life a struggle to not only
advance, but to survive.
And that’s wrong, because traditional retail is still a strong and growing
sector of our economy. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the
retail industry continues to be one of the largest employment sectors in the
U.S. and is projected to add half a million jobs through 2026. And while ecommerce
is having an impact on brick and mortar retail, it still makes up
less than 10 percent of total retail sales in the U.S. Traditional retail is still
the dominant player today in the retail industry.
Unfortunately, retail workers have not benefited from growth in the
industry, just like most working Americans haven’t seen any of the
benefits of a supposedly strong economy. The median annual wage for a
retail cashier stands at just over $22,000, and for a retail salesperson at
just over $24,000. The Federal Poverty Level for a family of four hoovers
at around $25,000.
Besides chronically low wages, especially for non-union retail
employees, retail workers face a number of challenges that can make life a
daily struggle of frustration. Scheduling issues abound, with many workers
struggling with insufficient and inconsistent hours. The practice of
“clopenings” – where workers are scheduled for late night shifts followed
by early morning opening shifts – can wreak havoc with workers’ lives.
Harassment and inappropriate treatment by customers and supervisors is
an issue for many retail workers, who are predominantly female.
E-commerce also presents challenges for retail workers, even while
traditional retail remains strong. Stores often encourage customers to
shop online, even while they are in the store, which can cost employees
valuable time and commission pay. Customers will order products online,
find they don’t fit or just don’t like them, and return them at brick and
mortar stores, where employees have to process returns instead of
making commission sales on the floor.
Above all, retail workers in the U.S. are getting fed up of being treated
like commodities and having no say in their schedules, pay, and treatment.
That’s why over the past decade, many have sought union membership. In
New York, workers at H&M and Zara have joined the RWDSU, negotiating
strong contracts that give them the representation they need to help build
better lives with their jobs. Longtime RWDSU members at retail stalwarts like
Macy’s, Bloomingdales, and Modell’s have continued to negotiate good
contracts that are helping adapt to the new realities of the marketplace and
the competition and challenges brought upon by e-commerce.
There are almost 16 million retail workers in the U.S., and they are an
important part of our communities, neighborhoods, and our
economy. And while the retail industry is working for
CEOs and stockholders, it isn’t working for many of
the retail workers whose efforts are the
underpinnings of an industry that continues to
grow. For our economy to be truly strong, that
needs to change.
www.rwdsu.org
BY MICAELA MACAGNONE
The Coffee Shop, the Brazilian-
American diner, was a Union
Square staple and a second home
for models. After being open 28 years, it
closed last October.
Forbes reported that Coffee Shop was
one of the 100 highest grossing independent
restaurants in the U.S. in 2017, raking
in roughly $14.3 million in annual
sales. Even so, the chic eatery was not
able to break even.
Charles Milite, Coffee Shop’s co-owner
and president, told Forbes that rent ate up
27 percent of the place’s gross revenue.
Plus, he said, the $2-per-hour minimum
wage hike that was set to take place last
December would have added $46,000 to
the restaurant’s monthly payroll, or more
than half a million dollars a year.
“When a restaurant is one of the topranked
restaurants in America, saleswise,
and can no longer afford to operate,
you have to look at that and say there’s
a shifting paradigm in the business,” he
told Forbes.
Some part of the former Coffee Shop
space will now become a Chase bank
branch. An application for the bank was
approved by the U.S. Department of
Treasury on June 4, Jeremiah’s Vanishing
New York blog fi rst reported.
Andrew Rigie, director of the NYC
Hospitality Alliance, described Coffee
Shop as an iconic New York City restaurant
whose closure is another example
of the city’s expensive and complicated
regulatory environment. He stressed that
systems that protect small businesses,
like the restaurant-industry tip credit —
which allows restaurants to pay $10 an
hour if employees’ tips meet or exceed
minimum wage — must be preserved.
Rigie said eliminating the tip credit
would be an enormous fi nancial burden
for small businesses on top of their normal
operating costs.
Rigie added that Mayor de Blasio’s recent
push for two weeks’ paid time off
for employees, “on top of the already existent
one week paid time off,” should not
move forward.
“De Blasio should be fi guring out how
to support our small businesses, not how
to make it harder for them to survive,”
he said.
Rigie added, if people view two weeks’
paid time off as a moral imperative, then
the city should subsidize it.
“We cannot address large societal issues
on the backs of small business owners,”
he emphasized. “Vacant storefronts
and big chains are unrecognizable from
what New Yorkers love.”
Rigie’s NYC Hospitality Alliance represents
restaurants and nightlife venues
throughout the fi ve boroughs. He said he
would love to see another local restaurant
PHOTO BY GOOGLE
After nearly three decades in
business on Union Square West,
The Coffee Shop closed last October.
in the Coffee Shop space, because
that is what makes New York special
and gives us our culture. He said while
a Chase bank is great if you want to
deposit money, it will never replace the
culture created by New York businesses,
like restaurants and nightlife.
Gail Fox, former co-chairperson of
the Union Square Community Coalition,
said she was disappointed by Coffee
Shop’s closing, yet was not viewing its
demise “so broadly.” She noted the place
closed, in part, because one of the owners
was moving out of the city. Asked if
she saw the loss of the hot spot as part
of a larger trend, she said no since it was
not solely an issue of rent and there have
been many restaurants that have “moved
on” from the still “vibrant” Union Square
community.
That said, she hopes the Chase bank
is small — an ATM would be enough for
her — and that the space remains a food
business, like a small food court.
“You were surrounded by aspiring actresses
and models,” Fox recalled fondly
of Coffee Shop. “The owners were most
gracious to the community. And the food
was the kind that would make you want
to stop in.”
She hopes that what enters the space
lends itself to the community in the same
way Coffee Shop did.
Jennifer Falk, head of the Union
Square Partnership Business Improvement
District, declined to comment on
the Coffee Shop space. A BID rep sent
a list of new businesses in the neighborhood,
and cited the BID’s Q2 Biz and
Broker report: “The BID’s ground-fl oor
retail vacancy rate remains one of the
lowest anywhere in New York City, at
just 4 percent at the beginning of the second
quarter of 2019.”
Schneps Media TVG July 18, 2019 11
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