Yesterday, an independent mediation service certified the signatures on union authorization cards that been collected by UNITE HERE last spring. They were able to verify 39 cards which represents almost 56% of the eligible workers who were employed at the time.

In the coming days we will continue the process to officially recognize the union and the next steps in collective bargaining. As we previously stated, we will be reaching out to all stakeholders during this time, including the union, our customers and the university. We believe working with everyone, we can transform our operations to improve the lives of our employees, the experience of our customers and the overall dining plan at Wesleyan.

-Karen & Ed

First things first:  we are located at 45 Broad St and YES WE TAKE POINTS.  You can use your meal plan points all day, 7 days a week.  

• Second, you can text your order in. 860-650-1214 (never a wait)
• Just like WesWings we are a small independent business owned by Karen & Ed ’89

• Grilled panini,
• 2 or 3 soups a day
• build your own grilled cheese
• Breakfast ALL DAY
• Fresh Smoothies.

Lots of choices for food and even more to drink.  First the food

Under Build Your Own Sandwich you can create just what you want.  Try our famous Cranberry-Apple Tuna.  We’ve also have

• Sliced turkey
• Home cooked roast beef,
• Baked ham
• House made Hummus

Plenty of bread options and spreads as well.  Any sandwich can be grilled on the panini press.

Continue reading →

We are pleased to announce that on Friday August 25th we signed a Neutrality & Voluntary Recognition Agreement with Local 217 UNITE HERE
With this new agreement, Local 217 has withdrawn their petition with the NLRB and we have agreed to voluntarily recognize the eligible workers unit assuming the union establishes majority support of eligible workers.
While it is illegal for a company to seek or favor unionization, we welcome an end to this controversy and look forward to working with Local 217

In the following months we will be engaging with all of the stakeholders affected by this process, including our employees, Local 217, our customers and Wesleyan University. We believe by working together, we can enact changes that will enhance the lives of our employees, the experience for our customers and the dining program at Wesleyan.

This is our 33rd September, and for almost a third of a century we have dedicated our lives to owning and managing our two small businesses at Wesleyan. We have always stood by our staff and supported them through the darkest of times. The addition of Local 217 will not change that.

In the coming days we will be welcoming the class of 2027 ❤️ and the return of the upper classes. We can’t wait to get back to business and show you some of our new specials and expanded tent on the patio. We are eternally grateful for the support of our friends, families, staff, customers and the entire Wesleyan community.

-Karen & Ed

We are pleased to announce on May 1st, we reached a stipulated agreement with Unite Here Local 217 and the NLRB on the terms of an election for both full time and regular part-time student and non-student employees. We appreciate everyone who had the patience to wait until the NLRB process was completed and not jump to conclusions, giving us the benefit of the doubt.

When faced with a situation where our employees have conflicting points of view with each other, we have done our best to treat everyone with fairness and act in the best interests of our organizations.

We look forward to the election and finishing this process. Further updates and notifications will be posted as required by the NLRB

We will continue to abide by the terms of our agreement, the NLRB rules that apply and will respect the results whatever the outcome.

– Karen & Ed

To Our Customers, Friends and the Wesleyan Community:

Yesterday morning we heard rumors that a rally involving Bon Appetit student workers also included some of our student staff from both WesWings and Red & Black Café. And that they planned to march to one or both of our locations regarding unionizing.

At 12 noon, a group of 25-30 students arrived at Weswings reciting demands with an ultimatum to voluntarily recognize their union by Monday April 10^th.

We literally had no idea what any of this meant. We had never been approached by any employee or been aware that anyone has had a problem working at WesWings or Red & Black. We felt completely blindsided. Within 9 hours organizers began spreading posts on social media encouraging a picketing event the next day along with a boycott of both locations.

We have attempted to reach out to our student staff to better understand their complaints and what any of this means. We have heard that some student staff were told the full time employees are for unionizing. This is a lie. Our non-student fulltime staff want nothing to do with unionizing and have requested a meeting with student staff to make their views known and to let them know how this may affect their livelihoods.  We are planning multiple meetings to meet with our staff after the Passover and Easter Holidays

Recent posts have referred to us as “management” and to refrain from litigation. We have no legal department. We have no HR department. “Management” is Karen and Ed. We are the ones who order the food, lug cases of avocadoes, pay the bills, make your sandwich, cook the wings and call your name.

For over 32 years we have prided ourselves for not only providing excellent food but being an exemplary employer.  We have always stood by our staff and provided for them during some of the most difficult times. We believe that the numerous employees who have been with us over 20 years and the overwhelming student applications we receive is a testament to our reputation as a caring and responsible employer.

When Covid shut down the country, before any public assistance was ever announced, we committed to paying our staff the remainder of the school year. We did not know if we would ever reopen but we wanted to help them despite the costs. When vaccines first became available, we went to incredible lengths to get all of our workers vaccinated weeks before they were publicly available or Wesleyan could provide them. We hosted a clinic to help all students and the custodial staff when no one else would.

We have been in business for over 32 years and have worked tirelessly to promote a positive, inclusive work environment. Most former employees will state Wes Wings and Red & Black was the best job they ever had. We are not anti-union; we want what is best for our employees and our company. We would like the opportunity to sit with our students and work together to solve their issues, like we have been doing since 1991.

-Karen & Ed

We are getting ready for reopening both Swings and Red & Black for the fall semester (Sept. 4) and we want to let everyone know what is new and what is old.

Number one: Our entire staff is 100% vaxed. We were very aggressive last spring getting people shots and we will continue to require ALL employees be vaccinated against Covid-19.

Number two: We are still take out only. Red & Black will be taking orders in person or by text (Zingle). Wes Wings will have the same system as last year. Lots of outdoor seating and the return of the Patio Grill

Number three: In accordance with university policy, masks will be required when indoors.

We are hopeful that restrictions on indoor seating and masking will be temporary. We have lots of new specials at both locations and can’t wait to see everyone.

-Karen & Ed