Darwin's United Solidarity Fund

A year ago, café workers at Darwin's formed a union — one of the first café unions in the Boston area — to fight back against harassment and disrespect on the job and the economic precarity that low-wage workers know too well.

Today, Darwin's workers are still in negotiations for our first contract, and we need the full support of our community behind us as we enter bargaining over our core economic demands, including:

• Zero-deductible healthcare. After keeping the stores open through the Covid-19 pandemic, very few of us meet the eligibility requirements for company-sponsored health insurance. Even those of us who do live paycheck-to-paycheck and can't afford care when we need it.

• A $24/hour base wage before tips. Rents, groceries, and energy bills are skyrocketing — and many of us already couldn't afford the exorbitant cost of living in Cambridge, Massachusetts. We talked extensively about what number would give us the dignity and security we need, and we know that a win at Darwin's on this demand would raise the bar for workers across industries.

• Three weeks' paid time off. One reason that bargaining for our first contract has taken so long is that our boss, Steve Darwin, has repeatedly rescheduled negotiations meetings to accommodate his own vacation schedule. Many of us have family out of state that we need time and resources to visit, and we need time off to rest and recharge, too.

Winning these demands would hugely improve our quality of life as the workers who make Darwin's sandwiches and drinks, but we won't win them without a fight backed by the whole community. If we win, we can change the game not just for Darwin's workers but for all workers fighting for better conditions at their jobs. Please consider donating $50, $24, or even $3 — the price of a small coffee — to show that you have our backs and support us keeping all options on the table in our fight for better lives as Darwin's workers.