By John McPhaul, The Chicago Times
January 4, 2022
CHICAGO – Workers at a Loop area Starbucks are pushing to unionize, joining a growing trend in North America for the coffee chain.
Last week, 14 workers at a Loop area store submitted signed cards to join the Service Employees International Union and have now requested a vote.
According to letter penned on behalf of workers to Starbucks President and CEO Kevin Johnson, workers pleaded for upper management to hear their concerns.
“We believe forming a union will truly support all partners, allowing us to complete our duties to the best of our abilities. Many of us at store 63483 have invested significant time and energy into Starbucks and want it to be a sustainable career. By seeing improvement in security, wages and labor hours, we know we’d be able to brew our best. Despite our differences- the bottom line is we both want to see our store succeed, which we know we can achieve through supporting and listening to one another.”
The Loop area Starbucks is the first store in the Midwest to move towards unionization, now joining other Starbucks stores located in the United States. Starbucks is opposed to the unionization and believes its direct relationship with employees, without union interference, has been the key to both corporate and employee success for the past 50 years. Starbucks operates about 8,900 corporate stores and 6,000 franchises in the United States.
The Chicago Times 