As waves of Starbucks employees strike and organize across the country, baristas are bringing the fight to the company’s hometown. On Monday, Seattle’s Starbucks Reserve Roastery filed for a union election, joining dozens of Starbucks locations that plan to unionize.
“Especially through this pandemic, we have encountered intense and unique struggles in our workplace,” Reserve Roastery workers wrote in a formal letter to Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson. “Through it all, we have been flexible and resilient to the ever-changing nature of the pandemic. However, our concerns and our safety have not been at the forefront of decision making that directly affects our partners.” (Starbucks refers to its employees as “partners.”)
The baristas signed off with a rallying cry: “Together we are Now Brewing: Solidarity.”
This particular Starbucks location is the corporation’s flagship Reserve Roastery, a subset of boutique Starbucks “destinations” that the company’s website describes as “theatrical, experiential shrines to coffee passion.” Roasteries feature a more elaborate menu and private tours, where visitors can “immerse” themselves in the coffee-making process. There are only six such locations worldwide, and successfully organizing one could be an important win for Starbucks Workers United, the employees’ fledgling union.
As of this writing, the Reserve Roastery is one of five Seattle Starbucks that have pushed to unionize. The Seattle City Council rebuked the company last week by unanimously passing a resolution in solidarity with Starbucks workers, though the measure is largely symbolic.
The Starbucks workers’ unionization fight began last year in Buffalo, New York, where employees agitated for better wages, benefits and working conditions. The corporation vigorously opposed them and required that workers attend anti-union trainings, but a Buffalo location nonetheless unionized successfully in December. Since then, at least 60 Starbucks locations have joined the unionization effort, and baristas have declared their intention to unionize from California to Virginia.
In a statement last week, Starbucks said its stance on unions hasn’t changed. “Starbucks’ success—past, present, and future—is built on how we partner together, always with Our Mission and Values at our core,” the company wrote. Starbucks has also been accused of firing seven Memphis workers in retaliation for seeking a union, sparking nationwide protests on Tuesday.
The corporation is one of several high-profile brands—including Amazon and Kellogg’s—to be roiled by recent unionization efforts. According to the Labor Action Tracker, a project of Cornell University’s Industrial and Labor Relations School, there were 370 labor strikes in 2021. And while U.S. union membership has been declining for decades, a recent Gallup poll found public support for unions is at its highest level since 1965.