A Starbucks location in Tumwater picketed against union-busting tactics over the holiday weekend.
Workers at the Tumwater drive-thru located at 5300 Capitol Blvd. SE went on strike at 4 p.m. Saturday to protest unfair labor practices. According to a news release from the store, employees from multiple day shifts participated in the strike, hoping to bring attention to Starbucks' "threats, intimidation, denial of benefits and more."
Several stores in the Pacific Northwest have gone on strike following the termination of three union organizers in the region. The Starbucks location on Cooper Point Road in west Olympia has gone on strike twice now.
Dylan Lux, a shift supervisor at the Tumwater location, said the labor strike is their way of correcting the imbalance of power in the company.
"It is completely unfair that a company should be able to push us to our breaking point on a regular basis just to have us work harder in response, but a simple labor strike in protest of these practices has us fearing for our future," Lux said in the release.
Starbucks media relations and management have continued to say they will respect the process and bargain with unionized stores in good faith.
More than 250 stores across the country have petitioned to unionize, according to the release. Workers United has filed unfair labor practice charges on behalf of stores in Olympia and Tumwater. The charge is still pending, according to the release.
