Who is Starbucks Workers United?

Starbucks Workers United is a collective of Starbucks Partners across the United States who are organizing our workplaces with the support of Workers United Upstate, a union with experience helping baristas like us!

What is a union?

A union is a group of workers who act together to improve their workplace. Having a union means having democracy at work. Without a union, decisions are made by your employer, with no input from the ones actually working on the floor— us. With a union, workers will have the power to negotiate with our employer as equals, work with a contract that guarantees our rights, and elect the people we want representing us.

Is a union anti-Starbucks?

No! We are Starbucks partners. We work on the floor, make Frappuccinos, and clean the mats. But we do want Starbucks to be the best it can be. Many of us have dedicated years of our lives to this company, and those of us who haven’t still see the potential in what it could be. Starbucks is the leader in the coffee industry and can be the leader in food service as a company that treats its workers as real human beings, not a body that can be replaced.

Who is Workers United?

The quick history: Workers United was founded by immigrant garment workers who were fighting to work in safe conditions, for decent pay. Today, Workers United represents workers across many industries — laundries and warehouses, textile factories and manufacturing plants, and restaurants and coffee shops. Joining this union means that we are part of a community of people working in indistries of all kinds, some similar to the work that we do, others wildly different. We get the benefit of learning from all of their experience protecting and caring for their friends and coworkers.

What does a true partnership look like at Starbucks?

Starbucks likes to call us partners, but all they do to earn that is give us some stock. We see partnership differently, as standing in side by side with our co-workers, looking out for one another, and making sure the place we work every day is safe. With a union, your store can’t suddenly stay open an extra four hours because of a decision from a higher up you’ve seen twice in your life. With a contract, your hours are legally obligated to be consistent. These things allow us to live and work without our jobs taking every ounce of our energy, or pulling the rug out from under us with sudden schedule changes. These things acknowledge the humanity of Starbucks partners and our lives inside and outside of work.

What is a union contract?

A union contract, also known as a collective bargaining agreement, is a document negotiated between workers and management— pretty high ranking management, in our case, not just your store manager. The contract sets forth the pay, benefits, policies and working conditions at the company, similar to the way the partner handbook does. Before a contract goes into affect at our stores, you’ll get to approve it.

How can the union protect workers against unfair discipline and termination?

Without a union, workers are “at will” employees, meaning the company can discipline or terminate us whenever they want except for discriminatory reasons that would violate federal law (race, gender, religion, etc.). Unions can prevent unfair discipline or firings by negotiating a “just cause” clause in the collective bargaining agreement. This ensures that discipline and termination is acted on when there is a justifiable reason to do so.

How do most employers respond to unions?

It varies. Many employers unfortunately fight the right of their employees to form unions. These employers who don’t respect the right of workers to form unions use an anti-union consulting firm that specializes in running very predictable, manipulative and dishonest campaigns of confusion and misinformation. A common tactic is when workers begin organizing a union, suddenly top managers or owners start showing great interest in the welfare of all workers. “How can we make things better?” They may even make some improvements in pay, benefits and working conditions just to buy time and try to convince workers to vote against the union. But with a union we can win all these improvements and more, all while getting to have a more equal relationship with our employers.

Some employers say: “With a union you lose the ability to speak for yourself.” Is that true?

This is not true and is a common anti-union line. The union is not a substitute for standing up for ourselves – it is a means of doing so. Your voice is not lost in a union--your voice is amplified. Think about how many times you and your co-workers talked about changes you wanted to see in your store, but knew that they wouldn’t be implemented. Or think about a time that you may have been treated unfairly by management and couldn’t do anything about it. Having a union is a chance for your voice to be amplified by those of your coworkers and for you to do the same for them.

Can the company take away any benefits in retaliation for forming a union?

No, that is illegal. By law an employer cannot take any benefits away from you when you vote to have a union. Everything we have right now is where we would start in negotiations. The goal in negotiations will be to get improvements at work.

How do we bargain a contract?

Negotiations can begin as soon as our union is certified by the NLRB, which usually takes about a week after a successful vote for forming a union. We meet with representatives from the company to bargain over wages, benefits, working conditions, and other key issues. Over many months we have written our first proposals which you can find here. These are what we present to Starbucks when we negotiate. When Starbucks reaches an agreement on the key subjects of our contract, we’ll take the contract to the entire Starbucks union for a ratification vote. If a majority of workers vote “Yes” to ratify the contract, the conditions put forth in the contract are enacted.

What does organizing look like in our industry?

Unions in the coffee industry are rare. Most workers in the coffee industry are overworked and underpaid. We think there is a correlation here. It doesn’t have to be this way. If we organize, we will not only raise our own standards of living, but we will set an example of what worker power can do in this industry that will empower workers in other cafes and restaurants to advocate for themselves by organizing.

What issues can we address by organizing?

Ultimately, that’s up to us as Starbucks workers to decide. As workers on the floor, we know what makes this company run and what changes would help us improve both our lives and the company. Our industry can be tough. We know what it’s like to be understaffed and overworked, on our feet for hours at a time, memorizing long menus, presenting a sunny demeanor to customers -- even when they’re entitled, or impatient, or rude, or creepy. Building a union across all of the corporate stores in the United States will give us a real voice over our jobs and legal protections that non-union workers do not have. We will have the right to negotiate a union contract and have a real voice in setting organization policies, rights on the job, health and safety conditions, protections from unfair firings or unfair discipline, seniority rights, leaves of absence rights, benefits, wages, etc. We can turn Starbucks into a place where workers can have sustainable careers and be rewarded for their years of hard work.

What are our union’s principles?

We believe that Starbucks should be a workplace where all workers have a democratic voice. Starbucks workers, current and former, should be recognized for making Starbucks the successful company it is today. Food service workers across the country deserve better working conditions, and our union’s goal is advancing social and economic justice in our community. Our union’s values will be inclusiveness, compassion, joy, creativity, respect, and solidarity.

Do workers need an independent voice? Starbucks has created some decent benefits and done some other good things for its workers without a union.

We’re glad that Starbucks provides benefits! We also know that right now, most, if not all, of the big decisions affecting Starbucks partners are made at the corporate level, without the involvement of Starbucks partners. In the words of one Starbucks partner, “Even though they do some good things, Starbucks absolutely takes more from you than they give.” We believe that workers deserve to have a real voice in negotiating what benefits matter most to us, how they need to be improved, and how they are allocated. With a union, we can make sure our benefits and wages don’t stagnate, that no matter who your Regional Director is, no matter who is the CEO, you have a safe workplace and that you can stand up for yourself and your coworkers without fear of retaliation.

What will be in our contract?

Negotiation is a process, so while we don’t know exactly what our contract will look like yet, we do have a place to start from. These proposals are the reflection of hundreds of Starbucks workers’ priorities for a contract. They address everything from wages that reflect seniority to health and safety committees to requiring just cause to discipline or terminate workers.

But isn’t Starbucks a better place to work than some other restaurants?

Sure! There are plenty of workplaces that flagrantly violate labor (and other) laws, because they think they can get away with it. But that doesn’t mean that Starbucks has the right to treat us poorly. Are they providing wages, benefits, and working conditions that are equal to their success? If the answer is no, then the best chance we have of improving our future is by forming our union to negotiate that future for ourselves, speaking as equals with Starbucks corporate.

I’ve heard a lot about unions and strikes. What is the policy informing when workers go on strike and do I have to participate just because I’m a Starbucks union member?

Unions do go on strike, but only after a strike vote is taken and a majority of workers vote “Yes” to go on strike.

How will we resolve issues in our unionized workplace?

Having a contract will give us due process and our elected worker representatives (called shop stewards) a way to stand up for our interests. With a union, if we have a problem on the job, we can still go to management on our own and try to resolve it without filing a formal grievance. But if we aren’t able to resolve it, then we will have the right to get another person involved and file a grievance and, if necessary, have a neutral judge, called an arbitrator, force the company to correct an unfair action. Without a union, Starbucks corporate has the final say and is essentially the judge and jury of their own case.

How much are union dues? Where do they go? What are they used for?

Union dues are variable depending on your region. As an example, in the Buffalo region of New York the union dues for full time workers are $10.84 per week. If you work less than 25 hours, dues are $5.47 per week. There are no dues until you negotiate and vote on a union contract. Dues are used for helping other workers organize, legal support, staff support, education training sessions for stewards, communications, lost time pay for stewards and negotiating committee members, etc.