Starbucks gives me a pain – a venti pain.
Not Starbucks’ employees. Not them. I’m there at 6:03 am just about every morning and there they are. Smiling as they set my order down in front of my bleary-eyed self. I bribe myself with coffee just so I’ll get out of the house once a day! Starbucks’ staffers are outgoing, hard-working – they remember my name! A lot of them are students; some are also parents. Many of them have 2 or 3 other gigs going while they’re in college all so they can cobble together a living and a life. I watch Jasper, Tegan, Randii, and the team at my local ‘Bucks and marvel at their dedication and genuine positivity.
When I took a break from tree-trimming on Christmas Eve Day, I was seriously in need of a jolt of caffeine goodness. As I hurried down the icy street I could almost taste the grande blonde cappuccino with oat milk or, as I call it, Heaven in a Cup.
I didn’t get my morning cuppa joe. Starbucks was closed. The workers had gone on strike – and not just in my neighborhood. According to Daily Beast, December 24th saw “more than 290 stores ‘fully shut down’ and more than 300 were on strike across 45 states, the Starbucks’ workers union said. Talks between Starbucks and the union stalled Friday over issues of wages, staffing, and schedules.”
NPR tells us that the strike began on Friday, the 20th, “in three cities: Los Angeles, Seattle, and Chicago…with the list of participating stores” that included “Boston, Buffalo, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, Seattle, and San Jose.”
Starbucks has a long history of conflict with employees over union matters. It goes back to the beginning of time . . .
Students from California to New York – in conjunction with
Starbucks Workers United – pointed to the coffee giant’s less-
than-worker-friendly tactics in dealing with demands for
unionizing. Restaurant Dive lists some of those tactics, which
include “workplace surveillance and diluting the electoral pool
at unionizing locations, firing workers involved with the union
in alleged retaliation, and alleged solicitation of grievances in
an effort to stymie union organizing.”
As usual, Starbucks blames its workers, pleads poverty, and swears its heart is in the right place. Executive Vice President Sara Kelly detailed the chain’s official stance in a public letter.
ABC News says the strikes only affected 3 percent of the nation’s Starbucks and the number of unionized coffee shops is only a drop in the percolator – approximately 540 out of 10,000.
Corporate greed is especially sickening during a season that supposedly celebrates generosity, compassion, and love. I wish Starbucks employees everywhere the very best in their struggle for just compensation. I didn’t get my Grande Blonde Cappuccino on Christmas Eve. It’s okay – to me, it’s just a cup of coffee. To the kids who staff the local Starbucks, it’s their lives.
