Rogers Park Insomnia Cookies workers protest, resign en masse following company’s response to shooting

ROGERS PARK — Employees at Insomnia Cookies near Loyola University have walked off the job due to concerns about worker safety and the company’s response to a nearby shooting.

Insomnia Cookies, located at 6470 N. Sheridan Road, temporarily closed after an Oct. 28 shooting, when a man shot near the store ran inside for cover, according to the former manager of store operations, Brenda Garcia.

Garcia closed the store after the shooting, a decision the bakery chain opposed and ultimately led to her firing, she said. His firing led other employees to leave their jobs, employees said. The company then hired workers who would open the store and showed them anti-union videos, employees said.

Insomnia Cookies workers and supporters held a rally outside the Sheridan Road location Friday, the second such action in which supporters have called for better worker protections.

A federal safety complaint has since been filed against the Insomnia Cookies store, which has also been operating without a business license for months, according to the city.

“Closed due to crime scene”

A group of men got into an argument around 2 p.m. Oct. 28 near Loyola Avenue and Sheridan Road, with one of the men opening fire and shooting another man.

The man who was shot walked into the Insomnia store on Sheridan Road, Garcia said.

Garcia was the only employee working when she heard a commotion outside before a young woman and the man entered the store, she said. The man, 24, was shot in the right arm, according to police and Garcia.

“They were screaming that (the man) was bleeding,” Garcia said. “Please call the cops. He is in shock. He is in shock. And I froze. Like, I was in shock. I thought it was a prank, because it was so close to Halloween. … When he turned around, I saw there were bullet holes in his arm.

“He was screaming that (the wound) was burning and he couldn’t feel his arm, and then he started yelling at his mother,” Garcia said.

Garcia closed the store and called 911, she said. The shooter was arrested near the store and the injured man was hospitalized and treated, police said.

The day of the shooting, a sign on the door read “closed due to crime scene.”

Problems then began to appear, Garcia said. She contacted Insomnia Cookies’ district manager, who explained that “under no circumstances” could the store be closed, she said.

Garcia refused to reopen the store and was told she had to provide gift cards to online customers whose orders were not fulfilled. Although the company urged her to reopen the store the next day, Garcia did not agree until someone was sent to clean up the blood that was still on the store floor, she said. declared. In response, two district managers asked to meet Garcia at the store the next day, where they confiscated the store key from her, she said.

The company sent someone else to open the store on Oct. 30, but it did not provide that person with a key, preventing the store from reopening, Garcia said.

Workers staged an action on October 30 to protest the company’s response to the shooting. Signs taped to the store’s windows that day read “No cookies until we are heard” and “Support the workers.”

The blood was cleaned up before Insomnia reopened on Oct. 31, and senior management promised to hire security guards for the Loyola location after the initial strike, according to Insomnia Cookies.

Garcia filed a complaint with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration after the shooting, following a call to the agency on October 30.

“I called (the federal worker safety agency) Wednesday because I was concerned about public health,” Garcia said. “It wasn’t even about us anymore. And that’s mainly what the strike is about. It wasn’t even about us, it was about the community and the people we serve.

Insomnia Cookies defended its actions in a statement to Block Club and said it was working with employees in light of the shooting.

“At Insomnia Cookies, the safety and well-being of our employees and customers are our top priorities,” the company said in the release. “We would like to clarify that our bakery was not the target of an active shooter, nor was our bakery an active crime scene. The incident occurred outside our premises, but out of an abundance of caution, we closed the bakery. During this time, we have taken steps to increase safety measures and deep clean the bakery in accordance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards. We have also provided paid leave to our affected employees and offered open lines of communication with them throughout this difficult period.

“Insomnia Cookies strongly opposes all forms of violence and is committed to supporting our team members as we move forward from this unfortunate event.”

Outcry following manager’s dismissal

Garcia said safety issues have plagued the Loyola Insomnia Cookies location, recalling an incident in May when a man brandished a knife at him outside the store. She said she had requested increased security at Insomnia for some time before last month’s shooting.

Garcia returned to the store on Nov. 1, choosing to stay home the day before to preserve her mental health, she said. She found that the blood residue had not been completely cleaned up in the back of the store, so she completed the work herself, she said.

Garcia also found that her office had been cleared without notice and no security guards were present, although the company later sent guards to the store, she said.

That evening, Jim Multari, vice president of operations for Insomnia Cookies, fired Garcia over the phone, she said. Garcia recorded the phone call with Multari’s consent and shared the recording with Block Club.

“Your behavior over the last week has been unprofessional,” Multari told Garcia during the call. “This demonstrates a lack of judgment that we really expect from our management. We appreciate that Monday’s event was truly important. You really didn’t work with us to open the bakery as we would have hoped. I was further encouraged by our conversation on Wednesday, and indeed some misunderstandings on your part were clarified, but since then your conduct has continued to be surprising, unaided, and I no longer have confidence in this role for you , and therefore your employment with Insomnia Cookies ends immediately.

Multari did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

About 15 of the 20 employees have resigned since Garcia’s firing, she said.

After he was fired, Insomnia Cookies sent a team to the store to discourage workers from forming a union, requiring employees to watch a 90-minute training video, employees said.

Cookie store in trouble with city business affairs office

After the shooting incident, the Insomnia Cookies location on Sheridan Road received two citations and three notices from the city’s Office of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, the office confirmed.

The company has been operating without a proper license since the last one expired in May 2023, business affairs spokeswoman Elisa Sledzinska said. Insomnia on Nov. 7 was cited for not having the proper permit and was also reported for posting signs on public property without a permit.

Without timely compliance, Insomnia could rack up thousands of dollars in fines per day from the city and could be shut down, Sledzinska said.

Insomnia did not respond to a request for comment regarding its business violations.

Reopening and protest

Insomnia Cookies stayed open with the help of newly hired workers.

The company’s response to the shooting and its treatment of workers led to Friday’s protest, which drew about a dozen people to the sidewalk outside the store — and as many security forces inside.

“A lot of the workers who work here are students at Loyola, and (Insomnia) is severely understaffed,” said a protest organizer who declined to be named at Friday’s worker action. “Most of the time, like when the guy got shot, the manager was the only one there. …So now community groups have come together to support not only (the director), but all workers in the community, especially here at Insomnia.

Bakery staff Friday did not respond to questions; security guards on site asked customers not to “cause any trouble.”

Garcia said she is taking legal action against Insomnia Cookies and hopes to improve labor standards at the company at all levels.

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