Petitions signed to remove Starbucks from UCLA, UCR
Hundreds of students at two local universities have signed petitions to remove Starbucks stores from their campuses.
In Westwood, students are expected to hand deliver a petition Tuesday to the board of directors for Associated Students UCLA with 700 signatures demanding the university terminate its licensing agreement with the coffee giant, the Los Angeles Daily News reported.
The petition is a show of solidarity with Starbucks employees across the country over what has been described as union-busting tactics by the company.
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The move to unionize has grown nationally as employees at more than 385 stores are now represented by a union that can lobby for higher wages, increased staffing and consistent scheduling.
Over the past few years, Starbucks has been accused of intentionally closing stores and laying off employees who were trying to unionize.
The federal government may force the company to reopen 23 stores, including six in Los Angeles, after the National Labor Relations Board said they were closed to halt union momentum.
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A worker at one of the Los Angeles locations told KTLA in December that employees were laid off as punishment for unionizing.
“Our district manager and our store manager had two-on-one meetings with our partners trying to give misinformation and dissuade our partners and intimidate them from unionizing,” the employee said.
A similar petition in Riverside, also demanding that the university not renew its contract with Starbucks, was signed by students at UCR and will be submitted Wednesday to Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox, according to the Daily News.
Several universities across the nation, including Georgetown University in Washington DC, have already submitted petitions to remove Starbucks stores.
An effort to remove a Starbucks at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, was already successful. The company’s contract will not be renewed when it expires in 2025.
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