EVANSTON (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Workers at an Evanston Starbucks have formally signaled a desire to form a union.
Employees at the Starbucks on Main near Chicago Avenue announced that they have petitioned the National Labor Relations Board for a union representation election. The group Starbucks Workers United said an overwhelming majority of workers at the location signed union authorization cards.
The workers who filed on Sunday became the first employees at an Evanston Starbucks location to ask for a union vote. Elmhurst workers also have joined the union movement, Starbucks Workers United noted.
“Like tens of thousands of others employed at Starbucks across the country, we have dealt with severe under-staffing as a regular issue, forcing us to work unreasonably hard and leaving us exhausted and sometimes unable to keep up with legally mandated breaks,” employees wrote in a letter emailed to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz . “We are glad to be able to provide a third place for people to meet, socialize or decompress outside of home and
work, and we value our connections with our customers, but we should be able to maintain a basic sense of safety and dignity while doing this.”
A Starbucks spokesperson issued the following statement to WBBM Newsradio:
"We are listening and learning from the partners in these stores as we always do across the country. From the beginning, we’ve been clear in our belief that we are better together as partners, without a union between us, and that conviction has not changed. We remain committed to our partners and will continue to work together, side-by-side, to make Starbucks a company that works for everyone."
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