Starbucks workers from the store at Capitol Boulevard and Trosper Street announced Thursday evening that they are going on a two-day strike to protest Starbucks' anti-union tactics.
Workers from the store at 5300 Capitol Blvd. SE — who voted 12-3 in favor of unionizing earlier this year — will withhold their labor on Friday, Sept. 9 and Saturday, Sept. 10, according to a news release from a group calling themselves Starbucks Workers United. Starbucks workers and their supporters will picket outside the store from noon to 3 p.m. Friday.
The workers at the store filed a petition to unionize with the National Labor Relations Board on March 28. Since then, the workers contend that management has participated in unethical practices that harm the low-wage workers.
In the spring, Starbucks unveiled new raises and benefits that would roll out on Aug. 1, but CEO Howard Schultz said the raises and benefits would not be offered to union-represented stores. Additionally, the workers say the company has failed to respond to urgent safety concerns, including failing to sufficiently staff the shop floor. The release also says they have fired union leaders.
"When we work with understaffed floors during the biggest season of the year, we're just showing the company that it's okay to keep understaffing us. We're striking to show the company that it's not okay to keep pushing us to our limits," Grey Hannah, a barista, was quoted as saying in the news release.
According to the Starbucks Workers United, 326 stores in 37 states have filed to unionize, and 233 stores in 33 states have successfully become union-certified by the National Labor Relations Board.
