Starbucks workers at the Milwaukee location located on Marquette’s campus are making efforts to unionize, following the national trend.
13 employees at the West Wisconsin & 16th location at Marquette sent a letter to Laxman Narasimhan, Starbucks’ current CEO, that detailed the workers’ demand to be recognized as a union.
“We believe that our direct relationship as partners is core to the culture and experiences we create in our stores. To that end, wherever we can quickly and broadly improve partner benefits and perks, our history demonstrates we have,” Starbucks wrote in a statement.
Starbucks wrote that they hope to reach agreements in 2024 for the locations that have voted for union representation.
The location is the first in Milwaukee to file a petition to unionize with Starbucks Workers United.
Some workers push for unionization efforts due to disrespect from upper management and insufficiency with tools and equipment, such as machines breaking and a lack of material to make orders.
Some workers feel they lack regular employment, which leads to inadequate staffing, where they are expected to push through without a solution.
This Milwaukee location joins a nationwide movement of over 9,000 baristas wrestling for better working conditions and wages.
Since December of 2021, over 380 Starbucks locations across the nation have successfully unionized.
Workers throughout unionized Starbucks locations originally went on strike back in November of 2023 due to staffing issues and workplace complaints.
Starbucks had a record high in sales on Red Cup Day in 2022, where customers receive a free reusable cup with their purchase.
The union is demanding Starbucks discuss terms on issues surrounding the scheduling and staffing of workers to meet the needed workforce for days such as Red Cup Day when workers are forced to handle an increase in orders with a staff shortage. Because of this, the union has filed an unfair labor practices claim against Starbucks for forcing workers to handle an increase in orders.
Starbucks Workers United called for all Starbucks employees to “rise up for a fairer workplace”.
The strike on Red Cup Day 2023 featured Starbucks baristas and shift supervisors walking out to protest unfair labor practices in Starbucks in what has now been dubbed the Red Cup Rebellion.
The strike is the fifth major labor action led by Starbucks workers since 2021.
In April 2022, Starbucks workers in Oak Creek became the first Wisconsin location to unionize. Two stores in Madison and one in Plover participated in the strike in 2023. The Starbucks at Marquette’s campus is the most recent to demand union recognization.
Starbucks opposes efforts by employees to unionize. They have failed to reach labor agreements with unionized stores.
“As a next step, we welcome the opportunity for partners at our West Wisconsin & 16th at Marquette, Milwaukee to vote in a neutral, secret ballot election conducted by the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) — which allows all partners to make their own informed decision regarding union representation,” Starbucks wrote in a statement.
Starbucks announced that employee pay for 2024 will rise by at least 3%. Starbucks set a company goal of doubling hourly pay from 2020 through the end of the fiscal year 2025.
This story was written by Gabe Mannion. He can be reached at [email protected].
