Buffalo, NY (WBEN) Workers at Starbucks on Elmwood joined a series of rolling protests around the country calling for a fair contract from the coffee giant.
"We are leveraging our work so that Starbucks will meet us at the bargaining table and settle our fair contract," says Abby Murphy. Murphy says she enjoys working at Starbucks, something she's done for the last four years. "Right now they are making it impossible for us to do what we love, and that's why we're here, like asking for that contract so we can go back to that cool, hunky dory, fun, hip coffee house and provide that experience for the customers, not only the customers, but the workers as well."
Murphy says it's people like her that bring in Starbucks' revenue. "It's not just the workers, it's not just one person. It's just not one store. It's nationwide. It's workers everywhere, and then so many allies and customers are standing with us and actively not supporting the company right now and giving them that money. And so hopefully that is what it takes for us to get our contract," says Murphy.
Dr. Howard Stanger of Canisius University says strikes like at Starbucks are different from traditional labor actions. "It's very different in the sense that there tend to be more part time workers, so a bargaining unit can change its composition pretty fast, and that could change the support for a union or lack of support, depending on who's in and who's out of the bargaining unit," says Stanger.
He says a lot of these jobs tend to be part time labor who may not have the connection to to the employer over the long run, because they're students, or perhaps it's a second job. "Then there are those for whom a job is primary source of income and want to make changes so they can support themselves and their family. But retail is very different. Another big difference is that there are thousands of Starbucks stores, whereas an auto company, a large auto company, may have a couple of dozen plants. So it's much more difficult for a union to organize 1000s of stores with a lot of turnover and a lot of part time workers," adds Stanger.
Stanger says an important part of this is the age. "These are generally employees between 18 and 34 and for American labor, that group has been very active in organizing, not just in retail, but also in media, newspapers, digital media, for example. So given the the brand name at Starbucks and the fact that this is a national strike, I think a lot of people are paying attention to this," says Stanger. "If the Union were to succeed and get a first contract, I think it would stimulate more Starbucks workers to organize their stores and other workers in retail to do the same. We have seen unionization at REI, at Trader Joe's, bunch of coffee shops around the country and including in Buffalo, New York, where there's been a successful union contract at spot for the company. Stores in that organization. So I think it is an important strike, and that's why the media is paying attention to it as well."
Further actions are planned locally for the Elmwood store Friday, with a picket from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., according to the Starbucks Workers United website. Another is planned for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Starbucks store at 3186 Sheridan Drive.