Starbucks workers at one of the coffee chain’s Newport Beach locations are seeking to become the latest to unionize.
Baristas at the Via Lido location filed a petition for a union election Saturday with the National Labor Relations Board, according to Starbucks Workers United.
They’re seeking to join 11,000 baristas at more than 550 locations in 45 states and the District of Columbia who’ve won their rights to unionize.
“We as humans have an obligation to people and planet to strive for equity, sustainability, liberation and justice for all people. Our efforts to bring our store together into this movement is how we stand for our right to the fruits of our labor. A better world is possible, and we will fight for it,” shift supervisor Mia Visconti said, according to the union.
Thousands of Starbucks workers walked off the job during last year’s Christmas period in what amounted to a five-day strike, including locations in Southern California.
The company has said it offers an average wage of more than $18 an hour and provides what it calls best-in-class benefits, including health care, free college tuition, paid family leave and stock grants.
“At Starbucks, our success starts and ends with our partners (employees),” the company said earlier this year in a statement to City News Service. “We respect our partners’ right to choose, through a fair and democratic process, to be represented by a union or not to be represented by a union, and will continue to work together to make Starbucks the best job in retail.”