Thursday, April 21, 2022

Starbucks baristas at New Orleans outlet are first in state to file for union vote

BY ANTHONY MCAULEY | STAFF WRITER
APR 21, 2022 - 2:15 PM

Starbucks on Maple Street in New Orleans on Thursday, April 21, 2022. Employees filed with the National Labor Relations Board to form a union, making them the first in the state to join a national organizing effort at Starbucks outlets.
 (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)

Workers at a New Orleans Starbucks this week became the first in Louisiana to officially request to form a union, joining an organizing movement that began at a New York Starbucks last year and has spread to several states.

On Tuesday, representatives of the baristas at the Maple Street location of the global coffee chain filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency that oversees labor law, seeking to hold a vote.

At least 30% of the 16 baristas employed at the Starbucks must have supported the petition for it to proceed. After the NLRB investigates to ensure the petition's validity, Starbucks will be required by law to post notice that a vote to unionize will be held at a future date.

Seeking better pay, benefits


Starbucks workers Caitlyn and Billie, neither of whom wanted to give their last names because of worries about retribution, said Thursday that they had jointly organized the Maple Street petition to push for better wages and conditions.

Caitlyn, 22, a student at Tulane University, said the $12 hourly starting wage at Starbucks' New Orleans outlets "doesn't sound too bad" when compared to the Louisiana and federal minimum wage of $7.25.

But she said there is little chance to grow that wage working for the coffee chain. One of the baristas on their petition was making $17 an hour after working for the company for 11 years. She said also that tipping was low compared to other service jobs, with the split working out at about $30 a week for baristas at the coffee shop.

The employees also are looking for improved benefits, including paid time off. Billie said they currently start accumulating paid time off days after they've been working a year; anyone who leaves employment and returns must start from scratch.
Backed by service employees union

The petition was filed on the baristas' behalf by Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union that has been behind much of the Starbucks unionizing effort. The union has about two million members and is the second-largest in the U.S. behind the National Education Association that represents teachers.

Manuel Quinto-Pozos, a labor lawyer based in Austin, Texas, also was a petitioner on behalf of the New Orleans baristas.

Starbucks on Maple Street in New Orleans on Thursday, April 21, 2022. The store's baristas are looking to unionize to push for better wages and improved conditions, including a stronger policy in dealing with abusive customers. 

















(Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)

Starbucks' CEO Howard Schultz, who ran the company during its explosive growth periods over the last three decades and rejoined earlier this month, has called on employees not to unionize and denied reports the company was using strong-arm tactics to deter organizing.

In response to a request for comment on the Maple Street union drive, a Starbucks spokesperson pointed to a letter on April 10, 2022 from Schultz where he addressed recent unionization efforts.

“From the beginning, we’ve been clear in our belief that we are better together as partners, without a union between us, and that conviction has not changed,” Schultz wrote.

"Any claims of anti-union activity are categorically false," he added. "We are fully committed to following the NLRB’s process."

Better offer for non-unionized workers

At a meeting last week with workers, Schultz said Starbucks is planning to expand its benefits package, but that any improvements would not be available to unionizing employees, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.


Last October, Starbucks promised it would increase base pay for various categories of employee from summer 2022, though it did not make clear at the time if that would include unionized employees.


To date, employees at about 200 of Starbucks' approximately 9,000 corporate-owned U.S. outlets have filed to unionize, with two dozen of those so far voting in favor and two voting against, according to the NLRB. There are also about 6,500 licensed Starbucks stores in the U.S.

Dealing with customers


There are approximately 100 Starbucks coffee shops in Louisiana, about half of which are in the New Orleans area, according to Starbucks' website.

The NLRB said earlier this month that efforts to unionize have grown sharply. The agency said that union representation petitions are up 57% in the six months to the end of March, from the same period a year earlier.

“Right now, there is a surge in labor activity nationwide, with workers organizing and filing petitions for more union elections than they have in the last ten years," NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo said in the statement announcing the increase earlier this month. The agency is looking for a budget increase of 16% to deal with the extra volume.

Caitlyn at Starbucks Maple Street said that the employees are also pushing for stronger support from the company in dealing with abuse from customers.

"We want corporate to have our backs whenever situations get hairy at Starbucks," she said. "We want a better way to deal with it than giving away free drinks and saying 'we're so sorry' to everyone," she said of the training Starbucks gives for how to deal with abusive customers.

Cecelia, the Maple Street store manager, said Thursday that as management she was not allowed to join the unionizing effort. But she's in favor of any plan that would make things better for Starbucks workers, she said.

"I would back anything that would mean the 'partners' would have a better working experience," she said, using a Starbucks term for employee.

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