Workers at Boba Guys locations in LA to join union

Workers from six different Boba Guys locations in Los Angeles have officially joined unions. The boba chain is based in San Francisco but has locations across the country.

According to The Los Angeles Times, the workers will join the California Restaurant & Retail Workers Union. CRRWU President José Roberto Hernández said the stores will be the first unionized boba shops in California and potentially the United States.

Workers had been speaking to the union for around six months and filed for a union vote with the National Labor Relations Board in July. Results were counted Wednesday.

The owners of Boba Guys issued a statement of support.

“We want to publicly express our support of the labor vote conducted by the National Labor Relations Board and [CRRWU],” Andrew Chau, co-founder and CEO Boba Guys, said according to The Los Angeles Times. “We have always believed in the right to organize and have cooperated with CRRWU and the NLRB throughout the entire process.”

The boba chain has recently been criticized for alleged union busting efforts in Northern California. According to NBC News Bay Area, employees at a Boba Guys store in San Francisco’s Mission District claimed they had been suspended or fired because they wanted to organize a union.

Workers at the Mission District location said their hours were being reduced. Conditions at the store were also deteriorating. During a summer heat wave, employees said they had to work without air conditioning.

One worker, Madeline Urso, said she was fired the day after she posted information about unionizing.

The store closed for in October 2022. Boba Guys has denied allegations of union busting but the location has not reopened since.