Petaluma Starbucks becomes 31st California location to unionize
(KRON) – The downtown Petaluma Starbucks location is now the 31st Starbucks to join Starbucks Workers United after a unanimous vote (12-0).
“We’re so grateful to our partners and community for supporting us through this journey and victory,” said Sol Helm, who has worked at the downtown Petaluma Starbucks for six years. “To us, unionizing is bigger than our store alone – it sends a message of support to every Starbucks partner, our local communities, and all fellow workers. Billion-dollar companies need to show up for the people who work for the money in their pockets. I’m excited to be a part of that movement.”
What’s the difference between coffee and espresso?
The Starbucks Workers United is a union group of Starbucks baristas with the purpose of “organizing together for justice, fighting for improvements on core issues including respect, living wages, racial and gender equity, and fair scheduling.”
According to the federal administrative law judges, Starbucks has committed more than 300 violations of federal labor law, including 38 unlawful firings, refusing to bargain, and unlawfully providing non-union workers higher wages and better benefits than workers who voted to form a union.
Red Cup Day starts Starbucks’ signature holiday red cups, making the coffee shops busier than usual. On Nov. 16, more than 5,000 Starbucks workers walked out at more than 150 locations across dozens of states, calling the walk-out the “Red Cup Rebellion.” The purpose of the walk-out was to demand Starbucks end illegal union-busting tactics and bargain in good faith with workers who voted to form a union.
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