On Sept. 15th, 2024, Homegrown Sustainable Sandwiches permanently closed its doors, leading to the layoff of 158 employees. In its press release, the company stated that the closure was due to “economic impacts, including rising labor costs and food prices, [which] created an unsustainable model.”
However, for the past two years, employees across all 12 locations have been unionized, fighting for better pay, smoke-free working conditions, and healthcare. Some employees have expressed belief that the timing of the closure seems to be correlated with the recent union contract that became official earlier this year.
The company has not commented on whether the workers’ union was the primary reason for their closure. One of Homegrown’s past workers and union representatives, Sydney Lankford states, “158 workers lost their livelihoods. Some workers, through the union contract, were able to retain a position at either of the two remaining locations. Those who didn’t receive a position or couldn’t accept one, however, were paid up to $900 in severance.”
Unions have been on the rise for the past few years – according to the Economic Policy Institute, in 2022, there were 191,000 fewer U.S. workers who were represented by a union than in 2023, in which there were 16.2 million. Although there is controversy as to whether or not unions are beneficial overall, it has been found that states with the highest union densities have been more likely to pass paid sick leave laws, in addition to paid family and medical leave laws than states with lower union densities. In terms of income protections, the 17 U.S. states with the highest union densities have median annual incomes that are $6,000 higher than the national average, in addition to state minimum wages that are (on average) 40% higher than those in low-union-density states.
Rising labor costs have also been an issue in the Seattle area for some time now – China Harbor, a Chinese restaurant and banquet hall, closed down in Lake Union. On social media the owners announced that a reason for their closure was the “challenging economic environment”. Mercado Luna, a Mexican restaurant, closed on October 1st. Ownership wrote, “The collision of the changing nature of Seattle and changing state, county, and city regulations has made it untenable to continue to operate our effort.””.
The closure of Homegrown reflects a broader trend of increasing pressures on businesses in the Seattle area. Whether it be rising costs, new regulatory/legal demands, or evolving labor demands, the workplace environment for blue-collar jobs have become challenging, leaving employers and employees to make difficult decisions.
