Former Adda Coffee & Tea House employees Monday announced that they had reached a preliminary agreement on a settlement with the owner of the restaurant chain who closed the shops a day after his workers went public with a union drive.
United Food and Commercial Workers International Local 1776, which was helping organize the Adda workers, said in a news release that the company offered a compensation package to former employees in exchange for the union withdrawing its petition for an election with the National Labor Relation Board.
Details about the compensation package were not released.
About two dozen baristas and kitchen workers lost their jobs when Adda owner Sukanta Nag decided in January to close all four shop locations around Pittsburgh.
The closure of the chain — it came a day after Adda employees revealed to Nag that they were organizing — drew immediate criticisms of union busting by both shop workers and members of the public. Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis and others joined Adda workers at a rally outside of Nag’s art studio in Sharpsburg a week after the closure of the shops to denounce the decision.
Meanwhile, Nag has maintained his claim that the shops’ closure was based on finances rather than anything to do with his employees forming a union.
“I am happy I was able to positively address the concerns of Adda’s former employees in a constructive way, including providing them with a comprehensive compensation package and other important benefits, which will help support their efforts and careers going forward,” Nag wrote in an email Monday when reached for comment on the agreement.
Andrew writes about education and more for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at agoldstein@unionprogress.com.