Neumos Workers Organized, Built Public Pressure, And Now They're Winning Real Improvements To Their Workplace

On May Day,  a group of workers from Neumos, Barbozas, and Runaway — a group of connected nightlife spaces in the heart of Capitol Hill — took their ongoing organizing efforts public, in hopes it would pressure their bosses to improve their working conditions. The workers’ demands for their bosses at Fokus Industries LLC are stunningly simple: pay them fairly, staff the clubs safely, follow the law, and meet with the organized workforce. 

So far, their bosses have agreed to provide security staff with basic gear for safety, to review staffing practices and wages, and to attend an all-staff follow up next month, according to a recent post on Neumos Workers United’s (NWU) Instagram page. But their struggle is not finished, NWU calls on all co-owners to “do the right thing and make decisions that align with our community values by meeting our demands in full!” 

NWU started off like most organized work places: workers talking and realizing they had shared complaints about their workplace. Eventually, those conversations became regular meetings. And then, a letter of demands. 

In March, 50 workers signed on to a letter to management, demanding solutions to the issues they face as Neumos, Barboza, and The Runaway. That’s more than 75% of staff, according to the union. 

They gave management an easy next step: Meet with the workers. However, NWU said that management “obstructed” their efforts to convene a meeting over and over again. Finally, almost a month after workers sent the letter, management put a date on the calendar to meet with workers — April 23. 

But then, it appeared management got cold feet. Workers claim that less than 48 hours before their scheduled meeting, management told the workers that ownership would only meet with a maximum of five workers and the group must identify those workers in advance. After some back and forth, the General Manager canceled the meeting, according to NWU.

The workers decided to take their movement public on May Day, gathering outside of Neumos for chants and speeches before marching alongside other Seattle-area workers to commemorate International Workers Day. 

In their public announcement, NWU laid out their demands. Those demands start off with the barest of minimums: Follow the law. 

In a now public letter, workers explained the compliance issues they see at Neumos. The letter reads, “...employees struggle to get payroll mistakes corrected. Staffing constraints prevent us from receiving meals and rest breaks. Safety hazards go unaddressed. Management has been mostly unresponsive to these concerns and more.”

Workers in the service industry hear over and over again that its industry standard for bosses to break labor laws, usually at the expense of their workers. NWU refuses to accept that excuse.

“Despite what the industry claims to be normal, these are still illegal violations of our rights,” NWU wrote in a statement. 

Next, NWU is demanding better pay. According to NWU, Neumos starts pay for security and bar staff at minimum wage, which feels low considering the “high standards” the venue holds, the workers argue. 

And besides, minimum wage is not a livable wage. According to the Seattle Times, a King County renter needs to make $92,000 a year to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment. A Neumos security guard making minimum wage would need to work 85 hours a week to reach that threshold. 

NWU demands a base rate of $30 an hour for security. If a security guard worked 40 hours a week at that rate, their yearly haul would amount to about $62,000, which is still a modest salary for the expensive City of Seattle. It's a salary where employers are implicitly asking for taxpayer bail outs — their low wages qualify their workers for government-run, low income programs, including subsidized housing. 

Finally, NWU wants “safe staffing.” The demand itself remains (at least publicly) pretty vague. In their letter, NWU demands that the “security department be allowed to schedule the amount of staff that it deems as necessary to ensure the safety of all staff and patrons in the building.” 

While that’s not a hard and fast number, the need is certainly clear to workers. 

“It is well known at Neumos that the first expense cut when management attempts to raise profits is security staffing,” NWU wrote. “Chronic understaffing has led to the endangerment and hospitalization of multiple employees. At a venue where workers experience violent altercations on a regular basis, adequate staffing is necessary not only for the safety of security, but for every patron and employee in the building.” 

Less than a week after the announcement, NWU sat down with members of management and Neumos Co-owner Jason Lajeunesse to discuss their demands. According to NWU, the bosses agreed to give security radio earpieces, flashlights, and security shirts.

Security gaurds used to pay for these required items out of pocket. While NWU is happy with this development, workers argue the company should already have been paying for these things.

The bosses also agreed to review staffing practices and employee wages.

They will meet again on June 3. Neumos ownership did not respond to my request for comment.