Four days after workers at iconic San Francisco bakery Tartine announced an effort to unionize, its owners have responded. Management won’t voluntarily recognize its 200-plus-employee workforce’s right to organize, they said through a surprising spokesperson: Sam Singer, a longtime San Francisco crisis communications expert known for his work with controversial companies like Chevron’s Richmond oil refinery and issues like a fatal tiger attack at the SF Zoo.

According to Tartine workers who spoke to publications like Mission Local and the Chron, the rapidly-growing company’s staff is struggling under unexpected cuts to hours; low pay (many bakery employees say that are only paid San Francisco’s minimum wage of $15.59 per hour, an arguably unsustainable rate in one of the most expensive cities in the world); and insufficient health care benefits. Hence the organization effort, an attempt to join the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the same guild that welcomed the workers of San Francisco’s Anchor Brewing Company last year.

Related Anchor Brewing Workers Successfully Vote to Unionize

On Thursday, February 6, a letter signed by 141 Tartine workers was delivered to four Tartine locations: Tartine Bakery’s first location at Guerrero and 18th streets, the Mission’s Tartine Manufactory, its new Inner Sunset location, and its Berkeley bakery and cafe. In the letter (which can be read in full here), the workers wrote that “we hope and trust that Tartine will respect our decision to form our union and recognize us. If Tartine refuses to recognize our union and collectively bargain with us, we will file for an election with the National Labor Relations Board.”

When contacted by Eater SF at the time of the letter’s announcement, Tartine said via statement that the letter “deserves a thoughtful and thorough answer” and that its leadership team leadership team would “respond to the letter more formally by Monday.” But when that response came, it wasn’t sent from a Tartine address. Instead it was Singer, whose PR firm’s client list is notably short of food industry names, who distributed the letter sent to Tartine’s aspiring union members to members of the media and other interested parties.

Folks who follow San Francisco news and politics immediately noted Tartine’s choice to work with Singer, and many decried the move.

Tartine management has brought Sam Singer (the guy who PRed for Wedgewood against Moms 4 Housing and for Safe Embarcadero against the Nav Center) onboard so please follow @TartineUnion and turn out because they need your support https://t.co/9ninTpTito — leo varadkar's socialist indian dad (@uhshanti) February 11, 2020

Lmao @tartinebakery’s owners hired the same guy who did PR for the corporation that evicted @moms4housing AND Chevron (yes, that Chevron). I guess they know how a town like San Francisco looks at union-busting https://t.co/h4BMpWURqy — Butt Praxis (@buttpraxis) February 11, 2020

Singer (who as of publication time has not responded to Eater SF’s request for comment) is an interesting pick for Tartine, as — as noted by the Twitter users above — Singer’s often in the middle of contentious battles like the city of San Bruno’s fight against PG&E, a fight against an Embarcadero-area homeless navigation center, works with controversial clients enough to be monikered the region’s “Master of Disaster,” and has been accused of underhanded tricks and unfair play in defense of clients like the San Francisco Zoo, which hired Singer after one of its tigers escaped its pen and killed a teenage boy. In recent memory, Singer’s only restaurant-related client appears to be Noosh, the popular Middle Eastern restaurant that abruptly fired its high-profile chefs.

Tartine management’s response to its workers, however, makes it more apparent why they might need to work with someone familiar with tricky situations. According to the letter (which is available in full below), “we think the only fair thing to do is decline the union’s request” to do what’s called a “card check,” a process in which employees provide signed statements (the “cards”) that announce that they support the formation of a union.

According to Tartine management, they’re concerned that “there is already some bullying and a lot of misinformation being spread on the internet and on social media about Tartine, your working conditions and most importantly, what can happen if we have a union at Tartine,” hence the need to delay the effort until staffers have “ample time to become fully informed before any vote is initiated.” Eater SF contacted Tartine for examples of the online bullying and misinformation referenced in the letter, but have not received a response as of publication time.

Employees are also warned that ongoing efforts to organize — which might include public demonstrations — could put off guests. “If these tactics upset our customers, it will hurt Tartine’s business and could possibly have an impact on your work opportunities as a result.”

Given local leaders’ refusal to cross picket lines, it’s true: The bakeries’ foot traffic could take a hit if management’s refusal to recognize the union inspires public demonstrations. (Several current members of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors have made a name for themselves as supporters of organization efforts, to the point that Supes Matt Haney, Gordon Mar, and Ahsha Safaí were arrested last November during a pro-worker protest at SFO last fall.)

The ball in now in the nascent Tartine Union’s court, with workers — as promised — filing for an election through the NLRB on Monday. The election will likely be held in March, which could make for a tense few months inside the bakery. Texting with the Chron, Berkeley Tartine barista and union supporter Matthew Torres expressed wishes for the best. “I hope that Tartine and their hired consultants will act in good faith during this process,” he said, “as the ILWU has for 82 years.”

Here’s Tartine management’s full response letter to its workforce