Here’s Why Workers Are Pushing to Unionize at Kim’s [Updated]

On May 28, workers at Uptown Minneapolis restaurant Kim’s announced their intent to unionize, delivering a petition to chef Ann Kim a few hours before punching into their shifts. It’s the latest development in a local service industry labor movement that has gained steam at coffee shops, breweries, distilleries, and other food and beverage businesses around the Cities in the past several years.

Kim’s workers are organizing with Unite Here Local 17, the far-reaching hospitality union that represents more than 6,000 workers at restaurants, hotels, convention centers, and other venues around the Minneapolis St. Paul metro. Bar lead Iain Knopp-Schwyn says they began their efforts to unionize pretty organically — grabbing a coffee or a beer with coworkers and discussing concerns they faced at work. “When you have enough of those conversations with enough people that you realize, hey, we all love working here, but this isn’t working for us in the way that it should be,” he says. “That’s when you realize it’s time to time to get serious.” From there, Kim’s workers partnered with the Restaurant Opportunity Center of Minnesota, which trained them on their rights to collective action.

For the time being, Knopp-Schwyn says, workers are focused on getting to the bargaining table, where they’ll eventually be able to hash out their priorities for better pay, benefits, and stability. One of the biggest workplace protections that the unionizing workers at Kim’s hope to secure is more consistent scheduling.

“You can’t rely on your paycheck being the same every week or every two weeks,” says bartender and server Kaylee Murphy. Her shifts are typically scheduled from 2 p.m. or 3 p.m. until “business decline” — essentially, whenever the restaurant slows down. “I’m not really sure if I have a part-time job or a full-time job; if I’m going to have 10 hours, 25 hours, or 35 hours. It makes life a little hard to plan for.”

The scheduling concerns are compounded by the restaurant’s no-tipping model, Knopp-Schwyn says, which applies a 21 percent surcharge to the total of each bill. Under a traditional tipping model, he says, getting cut early from a shift doesn’t make such a big impact — during a three-hour rush, workers can turn tables and make good tips. But the surcharge model at Kim’s creates a steady hourly wage, which is why consistent scheduling for its workers is crucial, he says.

Minnesota’s new junk fee law, set to go into effect in 2025, will ban restaurant surcharges that don’t go directly to workers in the form of gratuity, so Kim’s current no-tipping model is likely to change before then. That’s an issue workers will have to navigate in collective bargaining, Knopp-Schwyn says — for now, workers’ goal is to be recognized as a union, and to gain a seat at the table. “It’s about having a protected voice, so that we can ask for the things that we need to live good, fulfilling lives while also being integral role players at the restaurant,” he says. “We want the restaurant to succeed; we just want it to succeed with all of us.”

Workers are hoping that Kim and her restaurant group, Vestalia Hospitality, will choose to voluntarily recognize the union. Eater reached out to Kim for comment but didn’t hear back. On June 9, she made her first public statement on the unionization effort on Instagram, writing that though she “firmly agree[s] that everyone deserves the right to a voice and a vote,” she also believes the Kim’s team can “come together” without a union.

“As an immigrant and minority, I believe in fighting for what is right and working together to make a positive impact for everyone who walks through our doors,” the post reads. “What I am most proud of over the past 15 years is our ability to build strong communities within our restaurants and in the neighborhoods we serve.”

As the unionization effort unfolds, Knopp-Schwyn encourages people to come into the restaurant, try the food, and leave comment cards in support of the union. “It’s a really great restaurant to work at, and I’d love for people to see that,” he says. “Uptown is a wonderful neighborhood, and I’m so humbled and thankful for all of the people I work with.”

Murphy, who’s worked in the service industry for almost 20 years, has been at Kim’s since its November opening. She wants to stay at the restaurant and invest in its well-being long-term. “We want respect, we want a seat at the table — we want them to listen to us and work with us to make Kim’s a great place and cornerstone of Uptown,” Murphy says. “We really hope that Kim’s management and ownership chooses to recognize us.”

Update: June 10, 2024, 10:48 a.m.: This story was updated to include Ann Kim’s Instagram statement on the unionization effort.