NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Baristas at a Starbucks Reserve location in Manhattan have been on strike for two days because they claim the store has bed bugs and mold.
The unionized workers at the flagship Resreve on Ninth Avenue and 15th Street in the Meatpacking District chanted outside of the store arguing that the company is not communicating about the alleged bed bug infestation in their breakroom.
“We have word from the inside that they've known a little bit before that they were just not telling us about it,” Athena Cosmopolis, an employee of the store, told 1010 WINS about the bug infestation.
A spokesperson for Starbucks said that store management was made aware of the bed bug issue on Monday and soon after arranged for pest control services to inspect and treat the location.
“The same Monday (10/24) the provider visited the Roastery location and found no infestation or insect activity,” the spokesperson added. “The pest control service gave the location the all-clear to re-open on Tuesday (10/25).”
Starbucks said that the health and safety of their employees and customers is their number one priority but the workers at the Reserve location are also claiming mold from the ice machine has been making people sick.
“I do know other partners that got very ill and sick in our restaurant and had to go home,” Laura Garza, a Stabucks employee of 22 years told 1010 WINS after adding that she had to clean the ice machine for the first time recently after mold was found on ice.
Starbucks said that ice machine cleaning happens at routine intervals at all of their facilities and that the machine at the Reserve location has been replaced.
“Last week during routine maintenance and cleaning of the ice machines at the Roastery store management discovered a wiring issue with one machine and had the unit replaced within 48 hours,” the Starbucks spokesperson said. “Ensuring safe operations continues to be our top priority, and we welcome any partners to raise health and safety concerns with store management to ensure a swift resolution.”
Despite the fixes, workers are arguing that the conditions still exist and plan to keep protesting until the company comes to a resolution.
“The company has to step up and do the right thing,” said Assembly member Jessica González-Rojas, who showed up at the strike to show support.
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