18
COURIER LIFE, APRIL 8-14, 2022
STARBUCKS “We were doing
from other stores to fill in, but in
the case of Ceasar’s Bay, they may
not have wanted employees talking
with those from other stores.
“They were claiming it was because
of short staff because a couple
partners tested positive,” Di-
Motta said. “And normally they
would just send partners from another
store to keep the store open,
but this time they claimed they
could not do that. I was pretty
sure they didn’t want us talking
to partners from other stores.”
In Buffalo, workers reported
that executives had arrived on
site to perform labor typically
performed by baristas, in what
they viewed as an attempt at
intimidation. Executives also
forced baristas to attend mandatory
anti-union meetings and
closed down two stores where
employees were attempting to
organize. Starbucks fired seven
employees attempting to unionize
in Memphis in February, and
on Monday fired an organizer in
Phoenix, where the NLRB has
accused the company of spying
on and threatening union reps.
Dozens of employees have
filed complaints in recent
months with the NLRB alleging
illegal anti-union retaliation at
the hands of Starbucks.
A Starbucks spokesperson told
Brooklyn Paper that claims of interference
in the union’s organizing
drive are “categorically false,”
and disputed workers’ hours being
cut, arguing that schedules are set
weeks in advance and store hours
are subject to change due to “customer
behavior” and trends. “We
always schedule to what we believe
the store needs based on customer
behavior. That may mean a change
in the hours available, but to say we
are cutting hours wouldn’t be accurate,”
the spokesperson said. “Any
claims of anti-union activity are categorically
false. We will fully honor
the process laid out by the NLRB
and encouraged our partners to exercise
their right to vote in the election
to have their voice heard.”
The company claims that a
union would come “between”
workers and make everyone unhappy.
“We are listening and
learning from the partners in
these stores as we always do
across the country,” the rep said.
But Starbucks partners argue
that the “direct” relationship
they currently have with
the company has only served
to exploit them. Organizers at
Ceasar’s Bay say that they are
seeking to form a union to combat
the company’s paltry wages
and hours, and to demand a better
response from Starbucks
to traumatic harassment that
baristas have endured since the
start of the pandemic.
Baristas were sometimes
threatened or even assaulted
throughout the pandemic when
they were enforcing masking and
vaccination requirements, Di-
Motta said, but the company did
little to nothing to support them.
One barista who was assaulted
was ultimately fired, she said.
“We were doing everything we
could to keep ourselves safe,” Di-
Motta said, noting that some customers
have attempted to start
fights with her. “At that point,
why are we not unionizing?”
DiMotta said that the company
tries to prevent partners
from taking breaks by scheduling
shifts with short enough hours
that they don’t fall under laws requiring
the provision of rest time.
After the Buffalo stores unionized,
she said the company raised
prices without informing partners,
leading to verbal altercations
between blindsided customers
and blindsided employees. “I
think unions are kind of the only
way for workers to address these
issues in a lot of situations,” she
said. “It really isn’t fair for companies
to tell workers what they
need, or what they feel they deserve
for their work. I don’t think
they know half the time what it is
workers go through.”
And through it all, DiMotta
says that with a decade under her
belt with the company, she still
struggles to afford her rent even
as former CEO Kevin Johnson
waved goodbye with a $60 million
golden parachute.
“I think what’s happening is
a labor movement,” she said. “I
work at a company I’ve been at
for so long and it’s still so difficult
for me to live, pay my bills.”
Schultz, just days into his
third tenure as CEO, said in an
April 4 town hall with employees
said that Starbucks and other
“companies throughout the country
are being assaulted in many
ways by the threat of unionization.”
In his letter, Brannan
urged Schultz — who is worth
$4.1 billion according to Forbes
— to treat Starbucks workers the
same as they call them: partners.
“Starbucks famously calls
their employees ‘partners,’ a label
meant to symbolize the company’s
respectful treatment of
all in the workplace,” Brannan
wrote. “But the language of partnership
means nothing if Starbucks
‘partners’ aren’t treated
accordingly. If you truly respect
your employees, it is incumbent
on you to step aside and let their
legally guaranteed process play
out organically.”
Union ballots go out to
Ceasar’s Bay employees Friday,
April 8, and must be returned
within three weeks, by April 29.
Instead of interfering, Brannan
is encouraging Schultz to purchase
a $7 iced latte and feast his
eyes upon the glorious union.
“Step aside, end the unionbusting,
and obey the law,” Brannan
said. “Have a cup of coffee,
sit back, and watch a beautiful
thing happen at your stores –
both here in New York City – and
across the country.”
Continued from page 3
everything we could to
keep ourselves safe. At
that point, why are we
not unionizing?
Become a child
care provider.
$70 million in grants
for start-up costs.
Find planning resources
for application process.
ocfs.ny.gov/cc-deserts
/cc-deserts
