Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Starbucks Workers United members rallied outside the Elmwood Avenue location Wednesday, the first in the nation to unionize, to call out Starbucks for repeated labor law violations and efforts to stop unionization.
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“Starbucks has done everything possible to try to crush our union, but despite this, we’ve continued fighting and we are winning,” said Victoria Conklin, a fired barista from the East Robinson store. “Buffalo is a union town. We wanted our family, friends, and neighbors to see Starbucks’ true colors and let our community know that Starbucks is not the “progressive” company they claim to be.”
"We're done, we're escalating our campaign against Starbucks. We're doing that by reaching out to our consumers to our customers, and letting them know that Starbucks is not the company that they claim to be," says Michelle Eisen. She says the union debuted a brand new billboard on the 190 North going into the city, claiming Starbucks is the worst violator of US labor law in modern history. CUF communications director Charlyce Bozzello issued the following statement about the billboard:
“Workers, union members, and the public deserve to know that Workers United isn’t living up to its progressive reputation. Our education campaign aims to hold Workers United accountable for its hypocrisy.”