Starbucks employees on strike in Ontario
ONTARIO ― Starbucks employees, or partners as the company calls them, went on strike Wednesday at the Ontario store over unionization rights.
M.C. Floreani, staff organizer for Workers United, Chicago & Midwest Regional Joint Board, said workers at the store at 2182 Walker Lake Road filed their petition Wednesday to vote on unionizing.
More than 100 Starbucks stores across the United States are on strike. Most of those stores are already certified shops whose workers voted to unionize, Floreani said.
About 36 people work at Starbucks' Ontario store, near Meijer's along the busy Lexington-Springmill Road shopping mecca.
The local business is closed for now. Starbucks stores in Cleveland and Columbus are among those striking nationwide in an effort to win labor contracts. Employees are awaiting an election, said Floreani, which one worker said is expected to be held in six to eight weeks.
Starbucks says only a small number of stores are striking
Starbucks, which opposes the unionization effort, said it is aware of the walkouts and respects its employees' right to lawfully protest. The Seattle company noted that the protests are happening at a small number of its 9,000 company-run U.S. locations, the Associated Press reported.
"We remain committed to all partners and will continue to work together, side-by-side, to make Starbucks a company that works for everyone," the company said in a statement.
Employees braced for the cold winds outside the store, with customers dropping off hand-warmers, food, cash and more, showing their support for the striking employees.
Employee Susan "Rose" Ames of Mansfield said she has worked for this store for 14 years, and with Starbucks almost 20 years.
"We actually got a raise fairly recently. Pay is not the problem. Getting enough hours is the problem," said the mother of two. "As you can see, there's a lot of us here (today) and sometimes there are only three people on the floor, which is completely inadequate," Ames said. "We need at least five or six people and weekends much more. We all want to work, we all want the hours, we're just not getting the hours," she added.
"Shift supervisors are getting 25-ish (hours). The rest of us are getting between 12 and 18 (hours)," she said.
The store is open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week.
Workers 'struggling' to get hours, maintain benefits
Heather Brocklesby of Mansfield has worked at Starbucks for about eight years. A Galion native, she said she has seen during this time a negative shift in how the partners are treated.
"The main thing is that we are called partners yet we have no say in what happens to our schedule and things like that. A lot of people are struggling to get the hours to maintain their benefits and have the security they need to maintain themselves or their families," Brocklesby said. "That's what we're hoping to bring to the bargaining table. It's just having a more fair contract for the employees here."
Lizzy Prichard of Mansfield has worked at the Ontario Starbucks for almost five years.
She said she was outside on the picket line because she loves her coworkers and wants better conditions for all employees at Starbucks.
"We deserve a say in what happens to us and I think we really just want to serve our customers to the best of our ability and we're never given the tools or resources to do that," she said.
Prichard said their election on unionization will be held in six to eight weeks.
"I love the partners, the people. That's what's always brought me back, and the customers too. I'm friends with so many of them on Facebook every day and my coworkers feel like honestly extensions of my family," Prichard said.
"We have some of the hardest shifts around here," she said.
Need to work 20 hours a week for tuition
Amber Morrow of Ashland said she has worked for the Ontario Starbucks for five months but has worked for Starbucks for a year now, having transferred from the Ashland store.
A student at the Ohio State University at Mansfield, Morrow said she is studying to become a nurse.
"They offer us tuition through Arizona State University but you have to meet a requirement of 20 hours a week," she said.
Morrow said she loves the store and loves working at Starbucks, "but it's hard to love working for Starbucks when it doesn't feel like they have my back."
Employees said they are getting strike pay, adding that it helps them a lot.
lwhitmir@gannett.com
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Twitter: @LWhitmir
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Starbucks employees across the country are fighting to win a contract.
