Newberry Starbucks Workers Join Nationwide Union Election Filing
Local Workers Join National Effort
In a move to make significant changes to their working conditions, employees at Newberry’s Starbucks, located at Main Street & Wilson Road, joined workers from 17 other Starbucks stores across the nation in filing a petition for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) last Tuesday. This is the latest development in a wave of union filings that followed on the heels of Starbucks Workers United members wrapping up a second round of bargaining with Starbucks, negotiations which saw significant movement towards establishing a foundational framework for store contracts.
The Newberry-based employees hope to join the over 10,500-strong movement of Starbucks baristas that are advocating for improved working conditions, which include key issues such as respect for workers, equality in the workplace regardless of race or gender, fair scheduling, and living wages.
“Coming from a small town in the South, we don’t get many opportunities to make a change,” said Chesney Bolton, a seasoned shift lead with three years under his belt. “We do everything together here, so fighting for this, for a company that can do better for us, we do it together! We look forward to joining the bargaining process to negotiate a contract that not only helps the partners in Newberry, but the partners across the country as well.”
Workers Pen Open Letter to Starbucks CEO
In the spirit of collaboration, the workers who filed from the 18 stores collectively authored and sent a letter to Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan, detailing their organizing efforts. In the letter, the workers shared that they’re united through their shared experiences and demand for improvements such as better wages, fair and consistent scheduling, enhanced benefits, and a work environment that is safe and conducts business with dignity. They strongly believe that forming a union is the necessary step to address these concerns.
The 18 Starbucks locations whose employees filed for union elections include notable cities such as Burbank, Miami, Bloomington, Seattle, among others. Ever since 2021, when the initiative to form a union among Starbucks partners was first launched, more than 440 Starbucks stores have successfully held union elections with the NLRB in 43 states and the District of Columbia.
National Impact
The Starbucks Workers United members’ negotiations have had significant impacts, including introducing “just cause” standards and offering education benefits to unionized workers. The union’s strategy is founded on a peer-to-peer organizing approach which is led by workers for workers, a strategy that has consistently won nationwide elections.
The latest series of filings announced today follows numerous victories in recent weeks where workers elected to join the Starbucks Workers United in states such as Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Virginia, Utah, and Wisconsin, among others.
The Road Ahead
The wave of union filings by Starbucks employees across the country, where they seek improvements in their working conditions through collective bargaining rights, is a stirring sign of the increasing prominence of workers’ rights across various states in the US. With more than 10,500 Starbucks workers rallying together for fair treatment, the coffee giant’s corporate response will be closely watched by the public and could potentially set the precedent for other large corporations operating in the service industry.
