Prominent Mid-Columbia Starbucks store joins growing movement to unionize
Workers at one of the most prominent Starbucks Coffee locations in the Mid-Columbia are moving to join a nationwide movement to unionize, citing lost hours, lost benefits and being forced to work when ill.
On Friday, workers at the Prosser Starbucks, next to Interstate 82 at Merlot Drive and Wine Country Road, filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to unionize with Starbucks Workers United.
Starbucks released a statement calling its relationship with employees “core to the culture and experiences we create in our stores.”
The Seattle-based coffee giant said it has invested $1.4 billion in the past year in new benefits and to make it easier for customers to tip baristas when they pay by credit or debit cards.
National movement
It is the first Mid-Columbia Starbucks to join a national movement that has seen more than 440 locations seek to organize workers.
Twenty Starbucks stores in the Puget Sound area have voted to unionize, along with one each in Walla Walla and Spokane. Several were subsequently closed.
The outcome of a union vote at one Seattle store has not been settled. Two stores, one in Seattle and the other in Frederickson, voted against unionizing.
In all, 440 stores in 46 states have filed to unionize, with elections underway or coming up. Eighty stores have rejected unionizing.
Baristas say why
The union provided comments from two baristas working to organize the Prosser store.
“Lately I’ve noticed that as our customer traffic increases our staffing and hours are being lowered. These labor shortages and low wages during these stressful times where we are working above and beyond are why I think a union is necessary,” said Connor Bray, a barista and organizer.
“I’m a partner and I’m unionizing because we deserve consistent hours and to feel like we are all valued,” said Jamilah Lantin, a barista and organizer.
Working while sick
The Prosser workers outlined complaints that echo the national unionization effort in a letter to Laxman Narasimhan, CEO of the Seattle-based coffee chain. It was released on the X platform formerly known as Twitter.
The letter complains Starbucks is not living up to its promise to provide its workers with a “bridge to a better future.”
“These promises are not being fulfilled as short staffing and limited labor disbursements have put consistent strain on our partners and have prevented us from adequately serving our community,” the letter said.
Prosser baristas report their hours were cut, making them ineligible for health and education benefits they had previously received.
They also complained of being required to work when ill, even as they had high fevers, were coughing and even vomiting at work.
“Exposure to these partners and the biohazards related to their sickness has endangered not just others partners but the patrons of this store,” the letter said.
Continuing, it said management has witnessed ill workers getting sick in the back room during work hours but offered “make-shift” remedies to ensure they completed their shifts.
“Partners are expected to work harder and faster, and to meet more and more insurmountable expectations while being underpaid,” it said, accusing the company of ignoring attempts to work within the company to address the issues.
“We, the partners, want this company to do well, to flourish and to better reflect the values and mission that has always been at the heart of this company since its inception,’ it said.
Starbucks counters that it offers hourly workers the best benefits in the industry, with average wages of $17.50 per hour, comprehensive health benefits, medical travel reimbursement, tuition reimbursement for college students, paid parental leave, generous benefits to support mental health and well being, a retirement matching plan, resources to manage student debt and an employment stock purchase plan.
Starbucks said it is encouraging its Prosser employees to participate in the neutral, secret ballot election that will be conducted by the NLRB.
This story was originally published August 4, 2023 at 1:00 PM.