It got salty, and there were some rough waters, but unionized employees and management at Sea Creatures restaurant group came to a tentative agreement on a union contract Wednesday night, the union announced to The Stranger.  This means that workers at acclaimed oyster bar the Walrus and the Ca rpenter and both locations of doughnut shop General Porpoise will work under a collective bargaining agreement, pending ratification by the union membership. The weeklong strike at the Walrus that has attracted social media attention and led to some tense moments between union supporters and management has come to an end. Details about the collective bargaining agreement were not immediately available; Sea Creatures management did not return a request for comment. Unions are a rarity in the restaurant industry due to its fragmented nature and high rate of employee turnover. (There are some exceptions, particularly in unionized hotels.) Workers at Sea Creatures decided to unionize in early 2025, after an all-staff meeting where management announced that it was doing away with tip pooling in favor of a service charge model, a move Sea Creatures said was necessary due to falling sales and rising costs. The union, United Creatures of the Sea, claimed that this shift lowered wages for some workers and it became a major contention that won union elections at the Walrus, the General Porpoise chain, and the Capitol Hill steakhouse Bateau. Since then, a lot has changed in the Sea Creatures universe. In an open letter published this week before negotiations wrapped up, management said that throughout 2025, its restaurants continued to struggle financially. “As conditions worsened, we were forced to make painful decisions,” the letter says. This meant closing the celebrated restaurant the Whale Wins and shuttering all but two General Porpoise locations. Bateau was going to be sold to its head chef and general manager, but the deal fell through, and management instead temporarily closed it last summer before reopening it as Jeffry’s this April. (Jeffry’s remained unionized when it reopened, but after employee turnover there was no longer majority support for the union. The small staff voted to decertify the union earlier this month, so its workers are not covered by this tentative agreement.) As negotiations between the union and management dragged into the spring, the conflict became more public. United Creatures of the Sea filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board alleging management was unlawfully changing working conditions; the union also called out co-owner Renee Erickson, the famous chef and public face of Sea Creatures, by name in Instagram posts.  Last week, employees at the Walrus went on strike and picketed near the door on Ballard Avenue. Management closed the restaurant on Monday and Tuesday, claiming that union supporters harassed and spat at people crossing the picket line to dine at the Walrus (the union said it didn’t see anything like that). On Wednesday, before a deal was reached, the Walrus was open but guests were advised to park in the back of the restaurant and escorted to the door by security. Assuming union membership ratifies the contract, the Walrus and the Carpenter will fully reopen in short order as one of the rarest things in Seattle: a restaurant with a union contract. The post Sea Change appeared first on The Stranger. ...read more read less