Workers At Starbucks on Marquette Campus Demand a Union

Workers at a Starbucks cafe on the Marquette University campus announced Wednesday they are organizing a union, becoming the first in the city of Milwaukee to join the national campaign.

Workers are organizing the store at 1610 W. Wisconsin Ave., with Starbucks Workers United, a new labor union backed by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The union has successfully organized more than 9,000 Starbucks workers at more than 380 locations across the country. The Starbucks in Oak Creek at 8880 S. Howell Ave. was the first in Wisconsin that successfully organized.

Employees at the campus Starbucks store have filed a petition for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). There are approximately 20 baristas and shift supervisors who make up the bargaining unit at this location. A letter sent to Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan includes the signatures of 13 workers — representing a majority of the bargaining unit — and a demand that Starbucks recognize the union and bargain with it.

A recent decision by the NLRB, called the CEMEX decision, has rebalanced the power between workers and management during unionization campaigns. The decision holds that unions do not need to file for an NLRB election and can assert union representation simply by presenting their employer with union authorization cards signed by a majority of workers.

“After months – and for some, years – of being disrespected and ignored by upper management, our partners are tired of looking to them for solutions,” said barista Ian Shurbet in a statement released by the union. “We’ve been inevitably led to the formation of a union, one that can provide the security that our coworkers and friends have been asking to have for far too long.”

In the letter to Narasimhan, workers said morale at the store has been “on near-constant decline.” Workers are tired of an endless churn of managers, which they say is causing dysfunction at the cafe. The letter says that facility has not been properly maintained and describes backed-up waste water from clogged drains forcing them to work in a “rancid stench.” Additionally, workers are demanding stable and regular hours.

“This union ensures that we will finally have the chance to obtain the security, cleanliness, fair compensation, and respect that we deserve,” the letter states.

Starbucks Workers United is organizing the massive corporation at the shop level, as opposed to a company-wide campaign that brings all the locations under a single contract. Once organized, each store negotiates a contract with the coffee behemoth. This differs from the approach taken by workers who successfully organized the far smaller Colectivo Coffee company, with all 20 of its cafes in Milwaukee, Madison and Chicago organized simultaneously and represented by the same contract.

Across the country, Starbucks has pushed back hard on organizing efforts. Starbucks Workers United has filed many complaints with the NLRB alleging unfair labor practices, including the improper firing of union organizers.

The CEMEX decision has also brought new penalties for employers that engage in unfair tactics during official NLRB elections. If an employer is found committing an “unfair labor practice” during the election, the results of the election are automatically dismissed — win or lose — and the employer must recognize the union and bargain a contract. In short, if employers are caught busting up a nascent union, the NLRB can force them to recognize it.

Update: After publication, Starbucks sent a statement to Urban Milwaukee saying the company welcomed the opportunity for employees at the store on W. Wisconsin Avenue to “vote in a neutral, secret ballot election conducted by the NLRB — which allows all partners to make their own informed decision regarding union representation.”

The company said it would follow all the NLRB rules for a union election and that its “focus will be to ensure that they can trust the process is fair and their voice is heard.” The company said it has launched a management training program to and a labor relations relations team in response to ensure “compliance with the complex patchwork of employment and labor law.”