
By Gus Saltonstall
A unionization effort recently kicked off at a board game cafe on West 113th Street and Broadway.
Employees at the Hex & Co. cafe at 2911 Broadway are joining with employees at two other locations in Manhattan to demand volunteer recognition from management of their union Hex Workers United.
“Hex & Co is honestly the most enjoyable job that I’ve had in a while; it just sucks that the enjoyment has to come at the expense of being able to afford to live in this city,” Jace Alejo, a worker at Hex & Co., said. “All we are asking for is to be recognized and properly supported by this company that we already give so much to.”
The Hex & Co. at West 113th Street and Broadway, which is the company’s flagship location and a popular hangout for Columbia University students, offers a variety of board games, food, coffee, beer on tap, and special events.
The bargaining group will be roughly 75 employees including the baristas, retail workers, afterschool program workers and “dungeon masters” (who run the games). The demands include a wage starting at $22.50 an hour, a transparent path to promotions, and adequate staffing.
Hex & Co. management did not immediately respond to the West Side Rag’s request for comment, but workers say that management has so far refused to voluntarily recognize the union and have instead filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board.
While Hex & Co. workers have identified themselves as a union, the status does not become official on a federal level until an election with the National Labor Relations Board takes place that results in a majority of all employees voting in favor.
There are instances, though, when management of a company voluntarily recognizes the union before this vote takes place.
The majority of Hex & Co. employees have already publicly expressed their support for the union, and leaders of the effort expect the vote to go through easily.
In response to management’s stance, the group of workers launched a public petition for supporters from the community to sign, and are also tabling outside of the store for the “support of the gaming community” in demanding that ownership voluntarily recognize their union.
“As a community, we are watching, and your actions have done nothing but raise deep concerns,” the group of workers said in a statement. “Why would ownership delay in this way, refusing to recognize workers’ good faith efforts to work with ownership to improve their workplace?”
The petition has been signed 1,041 times as of Tuesday morning, and has a goal of 1,600 signatures.
“For years, however, Hex & Co. staff has had to deal with low wages, poor staffing, and a demoralizing lack of upward mobility,” the petition reads.
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I guess they forgot about all the union dues they will now have to pay.
As a proud union member since 1980 (Local 802, AFM) I can assure you the benefits of union membership for outweigh the cost of dues. In fact, I’m happy to pay my union dues and would gladly pay more. I wish these brave workers the best and extend a hand of solidarity to them.
Why do you say that?
Do you really expect that union dues would eat any raise they may negotiate?
Have you ever worked in a union shop?
However, who thinks most retail in NYC pays enough to live in NYC
I wish them well, but do they have any idea what the profit margins are on the business? There was a wonderful bookstore in Westerly RI where the workers unionized, and the place went out of business six months later. It’s a hard balance for relatively small businesses. I hope Hex and its employees find a path that works for everyone.
Any company that cannot pay a living wage to its employees, is not viable.
That said, the employees are in for a rude awakening if they’re attempting to negotiate higher wages without understanding whether the business can sustain it. Non wage demands, though, could be amenable.
Either way unionization is probably for the best even if it ends the business that wasn’t viable in the first place.
Judging by comments from young workers on reddit, they have absolutely no concept for company profit margins. They see only “greedy” companies refusing to provide them with the wages they feel they are entitled to for doing jobs that require little training and expertise. They also believe that rent should be free and student loans are someone else’s problem.
Hex & Co has 3 different locations in NYC, it’s not a small mom and pop shop!
It’s still a small business and with a mom & pop grassroots vibe at the 2 locations I have visited. It’s not a corporate behemoth with deep pockets.
We’ll never know, but how much do you think the owners make on 3 shops, as it currently stands?
I just know that if we assume a $5/hr raise, the extra expense – 75 workers x $5/hr x 35 hrs/week x 50 weeks = $656,000 – is no small figure. Even if you cut that in half, it’s still a lot of money for 3 shops selling games, coffee and beer, while paying NYC commercial rents.
Isn’t $22.50 just about the starting pay for some teachers in NYC? Along with paramedics and firemen? Are these workers arguing that their jobs are equally important? I know my job isn’t. I’m glad these folks like what they do, but if it’s not working out with the specific employer, they are free to find work elsewhere. That’s just part of adulthood
I can’t speak for paramedics and firemen, but the starting hourly salary for teachers in NYC ranges from about $30 an hour to $37 an hour, and goes up at a decent rate from there (not to mention good benefits and lots of vacation time).
Oh man, the idea shouldn’t be that these workers should put up with less (the city is so expensive this barely covers the cost of living), what should get you rattled is that paramedics and firemen ONLY make $22.50. I had no idea it was that low, you couldn’t even afford to live in a third tier city making that little. It’s the unofficial cuff of poverty wages in NY. With dental, transportation, student loans, groceries, utilities, and rent, $22.50 doesn’t get you anywhere like it used to. These workers will influence other workers to do the same. If you can’t afford to take care of your employees, you shouldn’t be in business. Leaving the job would just enable substandard wages and solves nothing, especially if other jobs treat their workers the same way. Our grandparents were union workers, we should be as well.
Student loans are supposed to help you get a good job. Wasn’t that the point? If you borrowed $200k to get a masters in gender studies and have to work as a barista that’s on you.
Comments like this are what the phrase “OK Boomer” was invented for. And if you don’t appreciate being dismissed like that, then maybe you’ll understand how younger people and service workers feel when they hear you mocking their jobs, education, tuition bills, etc.
Whatever, Snowflake.
Mine weren’t. I’m not either and I’m doing just fine. Not everyone is pro union and it doesn’t make sense for all business models
You think money is a sign of – or even remotely correlated with – “job importance”?
Also part of adulthood: organizing and taking collective labor action to improve your workplace.
My grandfather was a union organizer in the mineral extraction industry. I come from a family of union members and supporters and I am a union supporter . Your demands do not seem reasonable in my opinion. It is too small and depends on low dollar exchanges with customers to support your demands. It appears to be jobs “for now” and not career jobs.. My work experience includes union negotiations. I can’t see a path to fulfill your expectations except go to another industry that pays higher wages and is actually large enough that the company can offer promotional opportunities. U ions often, if not most of the time, aren’t the answer for smaller organizations…they often are the end of those businesses Get an education to advance. I have a masters degree, a union person can be someone with a post high school education. Some jobs are just jobs to get experience or pay the bills, then you move on, hopefully climbing the economic and career ladder of your choice. Just my opinion..
I hope they know the financial burden it will have on the business. This isn’t a large company. It could really hurt all concerned.
So you’re just an another advocated of “jobs” that don’t pay anything close to a living wage.
Some jobs are for people who don’t *need* a living wage but just want a bit of extra pocket money (e.g. teenagers & college students still living their parents, retirees collecting social security, primary caregivers who wants something they can do for a few hours while their kids are in school). If we don’t allow those jobs to exist then certain services simply won’t be available at all because it’s not worth the utility being provided to pay a living wage for them.
All jobs needn’t pay a living wage. My 16 year old makes minimun wage. He doesn’t have to pay rent of even buy food. Why should he get “a living wage”? Adults should have, or be working towards, skills and experience that will make them valuable employees who can command more than the minimum wage.
This place is selling alcohol, it’s not like they can hire 16 year olds.
I don’t know enough about any of the stakeholders situation to have an opinion, but I thank WSR for posting this story of interest in our ‘hood.
I hope they get what they’re asking for but they still won’t be able to live well in the city, they’ll still be in dead end jobs and they still won’t have benefits or a retirement plan etc. If this is your full time job then take the energy you’re using fighting for your gaming cafe union and find another job.
“Why would ownership delay in this way, refusing to recognize workers’ good faith efforts to work with ownership to improve their workplace?” Because you’re not only asking for more money, you’re also demanding to set the staffing levels. This isn’t a hospital or other critical care facility, you can make the place run with the staff you have.
When prices have to go up to support those increased wages, the petition-signing public which is rallying behind the efforts now to unionize, is going to disappear. And no, not every job is a career. The place is not Le Bernardin folks, and being a barista at a gaming place is not going to be the path to a great career.
The term “living wage” varies greatly, seems like the assumption is that one is always single without children. See below
https://livingwage.mit.edu/counties/36061
I regularly hear New Yorkers complaining how much something costs- they shop on line (therefore not supporting local businesses) and go to national chains like Trader Joe’s and cvs instead of local grocery stores and markets.
Why not have a petition saying everyone who signs it promises to buy their games and gifts at hex and co and other local toy shops – how about everyone shop locally before plopping down their name for someone else- local, small businesses to pay more to workers – without any guarantee they’ll get the business to support that.
Why don’t residents put their money where their mouth is- shop local, cut off online shopping and then tell local shop keepers what to do.
We are al in this together.
You want local shops? You want local workers to get paid fairly? Support the business with your business.
– –
Then watch the local people who work at the places you boycott lose their jobs. Well thought out plan.
Their profit margins are tight. They sell coffee. They will go out of business.
They sell a lot more than coffee. They have food and beer as well. But they also sell board games, card games (Pokémon, Magic, etc) and gaming paraphernalia. They also rent their table space – $10 per person for 3 hours of game play using their board games collection. They have gaming tournaments and events. For kids, they have after school programs and day camps whenever school is not in session (both public and private school calendars). They even host birthday parties and other events. They are a lot more than just a coffee shop.
Honestly, a bunch of clerks in a game store, this article could easily appear it the Onion.
With the costs of housing, groceries, healthcare, and basic necessities already so high and continually increasing, I understand their frustrations. For young people today, its’ harder than ever. I remember complaining when studios were renting for $600. Today, what are they going for?
A thousand on Staten Island and the Bronx
Ideally, labor is valued regardless of the level of status that position provides you in society. People expect citizens to not feel pessimistic or unengaged with their surroundings but don’t realize that by negatively reinforcing their lives with disrespect towards what they do to pay the bills, they inevitably set up structural breakdown leading to more crime and other undesirable outcomes.
You have to support people, the bootstrap sentiment in a myth. Motivational aspiration only gets you so far, you still need to be able to afford higher education, the cost of moving, and the number of other goals anti labor minded folks claim should be motivation enough to get people to go for “better paying” jobs or “better affordable” regions of the country (which there aren’t any anymore). Unions are a proven guarantee providing workers with protections and benefits. It shouldn’t be workers who adapt to low paying jobs, it should be jobs adapting to better supported employees; the jobs that can’t meet this goal are naturally selected out and fall off leaving room for better adapted jobs to take their place.
Not all jobs are designed to pay a living wage, They are called starter jobs and they are for certain people at certain points of their lives. Sure when you are going to school and you are really good at dungeons and dragons, being a professional dungeon master sounds like fun, However now that you’re 50 and you have a couple kids in college this may no longer be the best fit. Don’t expect starter jobs to raise pay so you can live comfortably, Develop skills and get the education that makes you eligible for jobs that pay well.
Exactly. Let’s not lower the bar. They should be encouraged to aim higher in their careers, not settle
It’s tiresome hearing lectures like these from someone who has never worked in or needed a union. The snobbery toward service workers (“aim higher”) is also grating.
Besides, their demands are for things like better hourly pay and staffing levels, not tenure for life with cushy perks and a retirement package.
Even their demand for a “transparent path toward promotions” is not about turning their jobs into something they are not. It’s about getting clarity on how their performance is evaluated and factored into decisions like who becomes shift manager when a vacancy opens up.
They want to know that if they work hard, it will be recognized — hardly an unreasonable expectation. Or do you think only white-collar professionals with fancy degrees deserve that?
“ Even their demand for a “transparent path toward promotions” is not about turning their jobs into something they are not. It’s about getting clarity on how their performance is evaluated and factored into decisions like who becomes shift manager when a vacancy opens up.”.
That can be and is done without unions.
To be honest, it sounds like they want a path toward promotion – which may not exist in a place like this. What is the promotion they seek? Ownership?
Perhaps they should open their own shop?
Exactly. It sounds like perhaps not a terribly well run business and again, these workers are free to leave if they don’t like it
You’ve missed the point! This is a fun place and the workers and patrons are passionate about it. It’s not just a store — it’s an event. It’s a place to hang your hat for a few hours and meet with friends. It has the feel of an old country store. So sure critical of Missed the point of what this place offers both adults and children.