HUFFINGTON
03.10.13
BREAD LINE
K
Panera
Bakers
Battle for
a Union in
a UnionFree World
BY DAVE JAMIESON
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ATHLEEN VONEITZEN heads into work at 10
p.m. with a long night ahead of her. A trained
baker, VonEitzen spends the evening and early
morning hours cutting and shaping trays full of
dough, shuffling between multiple ovens, and
constantly checking her crusts until they’re
browned just right. She pulls hundreds of fresh
baguettes, bagels, cookies and scones from the
ovens until her shift finally ends around dawn.
VonEitzen, 55, doesn’t work in
some boutique bakery, but in a
Panera Bread franchise in Battle
Creek, Mich. The company prizes
VonEitzen’s craftsmanship, referring to her as an “artisan.” “It
takes a special type of person to
dedicate their night to baking fresh
bread,” Panera says on its website.
Though Panera bakers don’t
bake from scratch (the raw dough
comes from a regional facility)
they’re still required to master a
wide range of baking disciplines.
They typically undergo a “bakery
boot camp” that’s at least seven
weeks long, with homework, exams and demonstration bakes,