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Highwire Coffee in Oakland, Calif., June 3, 2026.<\/p>\n
Andrew Chamings\/SFGATE<\/p>\n
For the past several months,\u00a0Highwire Coffee Roasters, a local coffee chain with eight East Bay locations, has been in turmoil.<\/p>\n
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Its CEO, Jeff Weinstein, who had been with the company for about a year, left Highwire May 29, an internal email obtained by SFGATE shows, and\u00a0the manager and supervisor<\/a> at the Rockridge location abruptly quit, according to an\u00a0Instagram post by the Highwire Workers Union, leaving the store stressed and short-staffed. Most notably, in early March, the company suddenly shut down one of its most high-profile locations in Montclair<\/a>, which reopened on May 29, according to\u00a0SFGATE reporters who visited the location.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Though Weinstein told employees that the company shut down the store because it didn\u2019t have a manager, it happened to close the same day union members asked to receive a response to their concerns of \u201charassment, transphobia, favoritism, and retaliation,\u201d the union posted<\/a>\u00a0March 3.<\/p>\n According to a\u00a0timeline posted<\/a> by the\u00a0union, employees previously made a list of demands to the company, asking them to address serious complaints of discrimination and harassment that have allegedly been ignored. Union members asked for a response by 5 p.m. on March 2\u00a0\u2014 but executives shut down the Montclair location and laid off all its workers instead, Scott Schulman, a Highwire production lead, told SFGATE on June 4. That same day in March, couriers showed up at baristas\u2019 houses with their final paychecks<\/a>, he continued.\u00a0<\/p>\n Then, on March 11,<\/a> Highwire released a statement on Instagram about the store\u2019s abrupt closure, attributing it to \u201cisolated operational issues.\u201d The statement also said all Montclair employees were offered transfers to other locations; documents from the union<\/a> say that baristas weren\u2019t contacted about it until a week after the layoffs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Even though the Montclair location reopened on May 29, staffing issues, as well as allegations of harmful working environments, still loom over the company, especially at the Rockridge location.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The May 29 post<\/a> by the union saying Rockridge\u2019s store manager and supervisor quit without notice, for instance, said that left the store without leadership for over two weeks. \u201cThis has created incredible distress on workers and created a hostile working environment,\u201d the union post said.\u00a0<\/p>\n But when the company finally brought in a new manager at the Rockridge location, the post continued, employees said they engaged in harmful, \u201cunprofessional behavior.\u201d On May 25, workers demanded that this manager be removed. As a result of the staffing chaos, the store briefly closed for a few hours last week, but the manager is still with the company, Schulman told SFGATE.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n After Highwire brought in a third party to investigate workers\u2019 claims of harassment and retaliation at the company,\u00a0Highwire leadership said that they went through the subsequent 63-page report and found the allegations to be unsubstantiated, an email from the company shows.\u00a0<\/p>\n Despite SFGATE emailing and calling multiple times,\u00a0Highwire representatives did not respond to a request for more information by the time of publication.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n While Highwire says it\u2019s actively working to reach an agreement with the union, bargaining sessions have been canceled<\/a> at the last minute<\/a>, the union said on social media, describing it as a pattern.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re bargaining in good faith,\u201d a May 27 post by the union said. \u201cThe company should too.\u201d<\/p>\n Overall, the workers say they take pride in their work, and want to create an environment that values transparency and mutual respect, a statement<\/a> from the union reads.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf you ask our CEO\u00a0Jeff Weinstein<\/a> what’s really driving the growth at Highwire, it comes back to people: our baristas, our customers, and the East Bay neighborhoods we’ve called home since 2011,\u201d Highwire wrote on LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Stay informed, and entertained.<\/p>\n By signing up, you agree to our Terms Of Use<\/a> and acknowledge that your information will be used as described in our Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Schulman said to SFGATE that this community-oriented messaging only works through practice, and trying to quickly expand while bargaining is \u201cthe whole reason we’re in this f\u2013king mess.\u201d\u00a0Weinstein did not respond to SFGATE\u2019s request for comment by the time of publication.\u00a0<\/p>\n On June 5, however, Highwire representatives finally met with the union to negotiate, Schulman said, and he said bargaining is going smoothly so far.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI never wanted any of the stores to shut down,\u201d Schulman told SFGATE. \u201cI never wanted financial pain for the owners or the company. All I wanted was fair pay, fair treatment, and a safe working environment.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778921290_52_rawImage.jpg\" "\\"#\\"")
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