Amherst, N.Y. (WBEN) - Starbucks workers at the unionized Bailey and Sheridan location banded together with over 100 Starbucks locations across the nation on strike Wednesday as the pressure mounts on the company to end their union-busting tactics and answer the call for the workers to have a seat at the negotiating table.
"Today was supposed to be CEO Howard Schultz's last day at Starbucks, he stepped down yesterday. We're here to show the new CEO that we want Starbucks to live up to its missions and values. Starbucks claims to be a place that puts people first, [a place] that wants to see us to succeed and they're not doing that," said Sam Amato, former 13-year worker at Starbucks, who was terminated for wanting to unionize.
Amato lists just some of the many things going on specifically at the Sheridan location.
"They're cutting hours, they're not allowing us to pick up shifts for extra money, they're making changes that negatively affect us, they're not allowing us to process tips and get tips digitally. They are just making a really hostile and bad place to work."
Related
This protest comes weeks after the National Labor Relations Board found Starbucks guilty, in hundreds of instances, of federal labor law. Which required some employees wrongfully terminated employees to be reinstated and forced the company to put up notices acknowledging their wrongdoings.
"I just think it's important for us to still show up and show out regardless if I'm still employed through Starbucks or not, because the fight hasn't ended yet, we're still trying to bargain for a contract. Starbucks is still continuing to retaliate against these workers," said Tatiyana Gurskiy, who was terminated following an organized walkout after the wrongful termination of Amato. She is still awaiting her trial with the NLRB for reinstatement.
The protest also comes one week before Howard Schultz is set to testify to the U.S. Senate's Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) on the union-busting actions after threat of subpoena.
Union organizers told me that about 50-100 Starbucks workers from the Western New York area are going to Washington D.C. to witness the testimony.
"We're at over 290 stores that have successfully unionized," Gurskiy mentions. "We deserve to have a first contract. We deserve to have a seat at the table and we deserve to bargain in good faith with them. We've shown up for them. It's Starbucks's turn for them to show up for us."