Podcast | The Starbucks labor movement is brewing in WA
But there still isn't a contract. Crosscut reporter Lizz Giordano updates us on employees’ unionizing efforts.
Several hundred Starbucks Workers United union members and supporters gather at the Starbucks headquarters Wednesday, March 22, 2023, to protest as incoming CEO Laxman Narasimhan takes over from Howard Schultz. The Founder’s Day demonstration coincided with walkouts at around 100 stores in 40 U.S. cities. Employees demanded that the company come to the negotiating table with the new union as they push for, among other things, better working conditions, higher wages and consistent scheduling. (Genna Martin/Crosscut)
Unions have been flexing their muscles to advocate for workers’ rights across sectors from the auto industry to Hollywood.
Coffee shops are no exception: Employees at more than 300 Starbucks locations have voted to unionize under Starbucks Workers United since December 2021, when a shop in Buffalo became the first to do so.
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Earlier this year, Crosscut reporter Lizz Giordano wrote about these unionizing efforts, including the alleged retaliation workers said they faced from the coffee giant and their ongoing struggle to secure a contract.
In this episode of Crosscut Reports, we checked back in with Lizz to ask if there were any updates since we last spoke to her. She talked about Starbucks employees’ growing union power – especially in Eastern Washington – as well as what’s on the horizon when it comes to bargaining with the coffee chain.
