NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Employees at four Starbucks locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Long Island filed petitions to unionize Thursday, joining a nationwide unionization effort that’s swept the world’s largest coffee chain.
The New York City-area stores are filing with Workers Unite, which is a branch of the Service Employees International Union and the same group that represents the Buffalo Starbucks that was the first in the country to unionize in December.
Megan DiMotta, a Brooklyn Barista at one of the unionizing locations, said the staff at her store feel used, which makes it harder to take care of customers.
“That’s what we’re trying to negotiate for. Basically being respected, being treated like the partner that Starbucks says we are,” said DiMotta referencing the company practice of referring to employees as partners. “We care about the company, and we care about the Starbucks mission. In order to do that, we need our voices to be heard.”
The New York City-area workers are looking to hold a vote in early March, according to the New York Post.
Roughly 170 New York City and Long Island employees could get union representation if the votes to unionize succeed
Starbucks Workers United, the rapidly-growing collection of 72 Starbucks stores that have filed to unionize across the U.S., announced the support of 76 New York City elected officials who signed a letter to Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson. The letter called on him to agree to a list of nine “fair election principles” designed to stop union busting.
The company fired seven employees involved in a unionization effort in Memphis on Feb. 8, leading to accusations of illegal union busting practices, The Washington Post reported.
The NLRB found Starbucks illegally spied on and fired two baristas attempting to unionize a Philadelphia store in 2019 and 2020.
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