Here Are Some Top Reasons Starbucks Workers Are Unionizing (In Their Own Words...er...Tweets)
For HR practitioners, the #WhyWeOrganize hashtag is rather enlightening.
For many, the speed at which Starbucks workers have gravitated towards unionization has been fascinating to watch from afar—although probably not so much for Starbucks management.
After all, from the outside, the coffee behemoth has seemingly been the paragon of progressive employee relations for decades, offering employees benefits and other “perks,1” such as:
Health Coverage
401[k] retirement and discounted company stocks
Paid Time Off
Parental Leave, including “Family Expansion Reimbursement of up to $10,000 per adoption, surrogacy or Intrauterine Insemination for eligible partners”
100% tuition coverage, coaching, counseling and advising through Arizona State University
Commuter Benefit, and
Why unionize?
Notwithstanding the fact that all of Starbucks’ benefits (and wages) become a subject of collective bargaining once employees unionize (and there is no guarantee they will keep those same benefits2 as a result of negotiation), from the outside, the unionization of some Starbucks stores has raised the question: Why?
Last week, a Washington Post article quoted a handful of Starbucks workers’ reasons for unionizing as: pay, a sense of belonging, having a “voice,” low/unpredictable hours, coronavirus safety protocols, and the desire to have a “a safe, nurturing work environment, where people can get their needs taken care of…”
However, the Washington Post article provided a mere handful of Starbucks employees’ reasons. Is there more to it?
Well, on Monday, @SBWorkersUnited, the Twitter feed for ‘Starbucks Workers United’—the SEIU/Workers United affiliate driving the organizing campaign—posted a tweet citing the company’s (alleged) cutting of hours, followed by the hashtag (#) #WhyWeOrganize and the tweets from baristas shed more light on the issues causing some baristas3 to gravitate toward the union.
See the union’s whole Twitter thread here.
Casual Factors:
1. Cutting hours/staff
Although the first tweet is from the union, a number of Starbucks’ workers4 chimed in citing the cutting of hours (while profits increase) as the primary reason they are unionizing.
2. Pay Practices (inc. low increases and policies)
3. Rates of pay & pay compression
4. Alleged poor management/conditions
5. Miscellaneous Issues
Although the above tweets are not all encompassing, they do provide some insight as to the causes some Starbucks employees around the country are seeking to unionize.
“There is, of course, no obligation on the part of an employer to contract to continue all existing benefits, nor is it an unfair labor practice to offer reduced benefits.” Source: National Labor Relations Board, Midwest Instruments (1961), 133 NLRB 115 [in PDF]
To date, Starbucks Workers United has unionized three Starbucks stores, but has filed petitions with the National Labor Relations Board at more than 100 stores. As Starbucks has approximately
It should be noted that it is impossible to verify whether or not all of the commenters are actual and current Starbucks employees (several self-identified that they are former Starbucks workers).