What has the union said coffee workers face at the Ithaca store?

Starbucks announced it would close a unionized store in Ithaca, New York, on June 10, as pandemic restrictions eased and coffee demand climbed. Workers United filed a charge with the National Labor Relations Board on May 27, accusing the company of violating federal labor law and retaliating against union activity. Starbucks denies any link to the union.

Starbucks attributes the closure to facility conditions, staffing problems, and time and attendance issues. The dispute comes amid a unionization wave across more than a hundred US stores, with workers reporting rising workloads, staff shortages, and aging equipment that went unresolved after being reported upward.

As COVID-19 pandemic restrictions eased, demand for coffee continued to climb, yet Starbucks workers in the United States found themselves facing mounting pressures from soaring workloads, staff shortages, and aging equipment. Against the backdrop of a unionization wave sweeping through over a hundred stores across the country, Starbucks announced it would close a unionized store in Ithaca, New York, on June 10. The union immediately filed a lawsuit, accusing the decision of violating federal labor law and constituting retaliation against union activity. Starbucks denied any connection, attributing the closure to facility, staffing, and attendance issues. Both sides stuck to their positions, and tensions continued to escalate.

As the COVID-19 pandemic gradually subsided, demand for coffee grew increasingly strong. Starbucks workers in the United States reported significantly increased workloads, staff shortages, and poor equipment conditions, but these issues went unresolved for a long time after being reported upward. Subsequently, the unionization movement at Starbucks in the United States rapidly gained momentum, with more and more stores and partners participating and voting in favor of forming unions. Recently, news emerged that Starbucks planned to close a store in Ithaca, New York, on June 10 local time, a move that immediately drew opposition from the union.

According to Bloomberg, the Starbucks union has filed a lawsuit against the company, accusing it of illegally closing a recently unionized café, a move that has further intensified the confrontation between the Starbucks chain and the rapidly spreading unionization movement.

In a filing submitted to the National Labor Relations Board on May 27 local time, Workers United accused Starbucks of violating federal labor law with its decision to permanently close a store in Ithaca, New York, and argued that the move was intended to retaliate against workers' union activity.

In response to these allegations, Starbucks stated that the closure had nothing to do with union activity and that the real reasons lay in the store's facility conditions, staffing problems, and "time and attendance" issues.

A barista, in an interview with the local Ithaca magazine The 14850 Magazine, revealed that since the union vote in the spring of this year, due to a lack of enough shift supervisors to support longer working hours, employee shifts had been cut and store operating hours had been reduced to 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Employees could only get 4 to 12 hours of shifts per week, earning too little to cope with rising prices for daily necessities and gasoline, while also failing to meet the eligibility requirements for healthcare benefits—continuing to receive employee benefits at Starbucks requires reaching 20 hours of work.

Starbucks spokesperson Reggie Borges said: "Opening and closing stores is part of our everyday operations. Starbucks approaches its work with deep care, humility and urgency, committed to creating the store environment that our partners and customers expect."

According to NPR, this Starbucks store near the Cornell University campus had already seen a worker strike earlier this year in April, when staff walked out for a day over "a waste emergency caused by a grease trap overflow." They said wastewater and grease from the grease trap had spilled onto the floor, creating safety hazards in the store.

The union, for its part, suggested seeking help from a federal court and applying for an injunction to more quickly halt or reverse the store closure process.

Starbucks employee Evan Sunshine said in an email issued through the union that Starbucks would not get away with retaliating against us like this, and that whatever the cost and however long it took, they would persevere. (Starbucks won’t get away with retaliating against us like this, whatever it takes, however long it may take, we will persevere.)

Starbucks attorney Alan Model notified the union of the plan to close the store in an email on Friday, saying Starbucks hoped to negotiate with the union over the impact of the closure on employees. He wrote: As you know, there have been many issues with regard to the condition of the store (e.g., the grease trap) and it does not make sense to further operate the store, (As you know, there have been many issues with regard to the condition of the store (e.g., the grease trap) and it does not make sense to further operate the store,)

Since a Starbucks store in Buffalo, New York, successfully formed a union in December 2021, more than 100 Starbucks stores in the United States have formed unions with the assistance of the Workers United organization.

According to CNBC, the Workers United organization is establishing a $1 million fund to compensate baristas participating in strike activities for lost wages.

Previously, Workers United had filed at least 175 complaints of unfair labor practices against Starbucks, while Starbucks denied any wrongdoing.

Image source: Internet

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.