CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Two more Chicago coffee shops have filed for union elections.
Workers at 21 Starbucks stores nationwide announced they are unionizing including the two local ones located at at Madison and Wells and 58th Street and Western Avenue. They have filed a petition with National Labor Relations Board.
In a letter to Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan, workers complained about several issues.
“Across the country, management is cutting hours, writing inconsistent and unreliable schedules, and placing more and more work on fewer and fewer partners,” the workers wrote. “We ‘partners’ demand a say. We are the face of Starbucks. As employees, we deserve the same respect and dignity as the CEO.”
In a statement provided to WBBM, Starbucks spokesman Andrew Trull said the company respects "the rights of partners to to organize and reaffirm our aim to negotiate first contracts for represented stores this year."
"We encourage all partners at stores petitioning for representation to get the facts, make an informed choice and ensure their voice is heard by voting in neutral, secret-ballot elections conducted by the National Labor Relations Board," Trull said. "Our aim will be to ensure the process is fair and our partners’ voices are heard."
Trull added that Starbucks has continued to build schedules that reflect employees' preferred hours and support expected customer demand. Trull said Starbucks has "invested more than 20% of the Company’s 2023 profits back into our partners and stores through wages, training and equipment."
Since late 2021, nearly 400 Starbucks stores in 42 states and the District of Columbia have successfully unionized.
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