Discourse Coffee Workers Vote to Unionize with MASH; Company Voluntarily Recognizes Union

Discourse Coffee Workshop’s Milwaukee staff have formed the Discourse Coffee Workers Union and secured voluntary recognition from company leadership after a third-party card count found majority support. The unit covers Discourse’s two Milwaukee cafes, includes 23 employees, and will be represented at the bargaining table by the Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers Organization (MASH).

MASH President Peter Rickman said the card count showed strong backing, citing a 74% yes vote among workers at the two Milwaukee locations and adding he believes actual support may be higher because some employees have not yet had a chance to sign authorization cards. Rickman framed the drive as part of a broader hospitality organizing wave, saying, “All hospitality work should provide living-wage employment and dignity, rights and respect on the job - and workers secure these through a union and a contract.” He also said, “Something that’s really defined this wave … is that you quit the jobs you don’t like and you work to change the jobs you love.”

Workers and MASH representatives met at Alderman Bob Bauman’s City Hall office to count authorization cards, and Discourse leadership voluntarily recognized the union at that meeting. Company founder and CEO Ryan Castelaz said the company has kept an open door to employee feedback and that voluntarily recognizing the union “is a way to put that openness in writing,” framing the decision as consistent with Discourse’s stated priorities.

Discourse Coffee Workshop launched in Sister Bay in 2017 and relocated to Milwaukee in 2021; it now operates two Milwaukee cafes and a residency location in Chicago. On its local reputation, the company has been described as a nationally recognized voice in specialty coffee and a neighborhood gathering space with a team-centered culture; reported employee benefits have included competitive starting wages, paid time off, and health, dental and vision coverage, alongside encouragement for barista creativity.

The voluntary recognition route means Discourse opted not to pursue a National Labor Relations Board election; organizers relied on authorization cards and third-party verification rather than an adversarial NLRB process. MASH will represent the Discourse bargaining unit when contract talks begin, with negotiations expected to start in the coming months. MASH already represents other local coffee and hospitality workers, linking Discourse’s drive to prior organizing efforts such as union requests at Anodyne Coffee and representation of workers in the Deer District.

WUWM’s coverage of the card-count meeting included photographs credited to Sam Woods showing the Radio Milwaukee location and the card-count meeting, and Urban Milwaukee’s coverage included imagery credited to Kevin J. Miyazaki and a photo titled “Moonwater” by Ryan Castelaz. With voluntary recognition secured and MASH at the table, the immediate focus for Discourse employees and management is the upcoming contract negotiations and the specific terms the new Discourse Coffee Workers Union will seek to win.