Redmond Starbucks Employees Announce Plans to Unionize | Eater Seattle

"At the Starbucks on 170th Avenue Northeast in Redmond, I learned employees announced on May 30 that they filed a petition to unionize with the NLRB through Starbucks Workers United because they hope a union will help alleviate chronic scheduling and mismanagement problems that upper management hasn’t addressed. Staff cited the installation of poorly trained managers who frequently make scheduling mistakes and foster poor communication and inconsistent support, in addition to working with broken equipment and slow maintenance turnarounds. Shift supervisor Lillian Kossak said the store once prioritized community and baristas’ growth but now is just trying to get through each shift, and shift supervisor Mike Baughman said he hopes unionizing will show Starbucks that the partners “aren’t going away.” If they vote to form a union they’d join several other Seattle-area stores and hundreds nationwide from the 2022 service-industry wave; the NLRB has not set an election date. The dispute sits against broader bargaining tensions—unionized stores say the company is dragging its feet on contracts and a regional NLRB director filed a formal complaint in December alleging illegal refusal to bargain—while Starbucks spokesperson Andrew Trull emphasized the company’s preference for a direct relationship with partners, cited investments like new brewing machines and benefits, welcomed a neutral NLRB election, and said the company is committed to engaging in good-faith bargaining. The effort also comes amid wider scrutiny of Starbucks’ labor practices as longtime leader Howard Schultz stepped down and the company faced Senate hearings and criticism from some corporate office workers." - Harry Cheadle