Madison Sourdough employees ratify union contract that boosts pay, benefits

Employees at Madison Sourdough, a popular Dane County bakery, have ratified their first union contract with the business, nine months after negotiations launched in June 2023.

The agreement raises base pay and includes guaranteed annual raises, along with paid sick time and other benefits for about 40 employees represented by United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1473. The union and Madison Sourdough also have established a joint labor-management safety committee.

Among the added benefits are a retirement plan, paid parental and bereavement leave and short-term disability pay and increases in paid vacation time — perks that “the union and employer hope will aid in making jobs at MSCo. attractive to workers seeking a career in the food service and hospitality industry, an industry known for high turnover and difficult working conditions,” the union said in its announcement.

“We are delighted to have reached a mutually acceptable overall contract that allows Madison Sourdough to continue its long tradition of investing its success in employees,” said Emily Hutchison, co-owner of the bakery, in an email statement.

Hutchison said that between 2020 and 2023 Madison Sourdough raised wages by 32% and that the contract terms “are continuing that trajectory.” The company also began paying 100% of employees’ health insurance premiums at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.

The contract settlement, ratified last week, comes amid continuing union organizing in the service industry. Last month, Starbucks Coffee and Starbucks Workers United, the union that has organized hundreds of the coffee chain’s outlets across the country including several in Wisconsin, announced an agreement to bargain a master contract for locations where Starbucks Workers United has won representation elections.