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15 Starbucks stores nationwide are organizing and filing to join the union this month. One Clearwater Starbucks location hopes to join over 470 stores during contract negotiations.
Raven Schvartz has been a barista at Starbucks for two years.
She said her location wants to unionize for consistent scheduling, higher wages, and recognition in the workplace.
“Our air conditioning, it was broken, for I wanna say probably half a year. We brought it up so many times, and it didn’t get fixed. It’s still not fully fixed.”
In a letter signed by 15 stores across the country, workers say they “refuse to be pawns in a zero-sum game.”
They want a seat at the bargaining table so they can have a say in the company’s future.
But Schvartz says there’s no bad blood.
“We’re not anti-Starbucks, unionizing doesn’t mean we’re going against Starbucks. We just want to see our needs met, and we just want to get what we need to do our jobs right.”
Starbucks has said they are “committed to working together” with the union Starbucks Workers United.
