Baristas at a Starbucks in Seal Beach have filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to unionize with Starbucks Workers United.
Weary of low pay, reduced hours and inconsistent scheduling, employees at the Seal Beach Boulevard store are among 21 Starbucks stores in 14 states demanding that company CEO Laxman Narasimhan recognize the union.
Baristas from the 21 stores — including locations in San Jose and Antioch — expressed their frustration in a Tuesday, Feb. 20 letter to Narasimhan.
More union news: UCLA, UC Riverside students petition to remove Starbucks from campuses
“Across the country, management is cutting hours, writing inconsistent and unreliable schedules and placing more and more work on fewer and fewer partners,” the letter said. “Starbucks’ profit-driven behavior makes doing our jobs impossible.”
Employees say they can’t keep up with constant in-store promotions, dilapidated equipment and unclean stores.
“It’s clear to us now more than ever that this one-sided relationship is no longer working,” they said.
Related: Baristas win union election at Starbucks in Los Angeles
Starbucks workers at union stores throughout the U.S. launched a three-day strike Friday in an effort to unionize more of the coffee chain’s locations. Kit Kittleson, Josie Serrano and Misha Spencer are seen here holding picket signs in front of the Starbucks at the corner of Redondo Avenue and 7th Streetin Long Beach. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Starbucks employees throughout the US have consistently accused management of union-busting. Despite the complaints, nearly 400 locations have successfully unionized since December 2021.
More on union formation: Starbucks ‘illegally’ closed 6 Los Angeles-area stores after union formation, feds says
In a statement issued Tuesday, Starbucks spokesman Andrew Trull addressed scheduling concerns.
“We know a core piece of a positive partner experience is consistent scheduling and predictable hours, and we’ve continued to work to build weekly schedules that reflect our partners’ preferred hours and support expected customer demand,” he said.
Trull added that the company’s average hourly wage for its US workers is $17.50, and when total compensation and benefits are included that equates to $27 an hour.
Also see: Workers at an LA Starbucks file petition to unionize
“Starbucks has invested more than 20% of the company’s 2023 profits back into our partners and stores through wages, training and equipment,” he said.
Trull said Starbucks has boosted the average hours per U.S. employee by 5% and increased total hourly compensation by nearly 50% since fiscal-year 2020.
Still, employees say their hours and work environment are lacking.
‘I’m voting to unionize because we deserve consistent work hours and a place that values baristas’ input on better working conditions,” said Damian Velazquez, a shift supervisor and organizer at the Seal Beach store.
Velazquez said when suggestions or concerns are brought to management little or no action is taken.
And for many, work schedules have been whittled.
“They’ve been able to cut our hours at their own discretion, causing many partners to jeopardize their qualifications to access Starbucks benefits, or worse, lose necessary wages to survive,” Velazquez said.
Workers at a Starbucks in Los Angeles voted last month to unionize, marking the 33rd California location to join Starbucks Workers United. Additional stores in Long Beach, Los Angeles, Anaheim and Huntington Beach have also joined the union.
Starbucks came under additional pressure last month when students at UCLA and UC Riverside demanded that their schools cut ties with Starbucks until the coffee chain ends its alleged union-busting campaign against its baristas.
In a show of solidarity, the students delivered petitions with more than 1,500 signatures to the two universities.
Speaking last month, Trull disputed the notion that Starbucks is union-busting.
“As a company, we respect our partners’ right to organize, freely associate, engage in lawful union activities and bargain collectively without fear of reprisal or retaliation,” he said.
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