Santa Clarita Starbucks is latest to join union push

A Los Angeles County Starbucks is the latest to join the ranks of stores whose employees have decided to form a union .

On Wednesday, workers at the coffee shop at Newhall Avenue and Carl Court in Santa Clarita filed a petition for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board, the union Starbucks Workers United said in a news release.

“A wave of election filings at more than 20 Starbucks stores across the country is expected this month and comes just days after the first bargaining session between Workers United and Starbucks where the two parties made significant progress toward a foundational framework for store contracts,” the statement added.

Since 2021, about 10,000 baristas at more than 420 stores have joined the union, which draws members from 43 states and Washington, D.C., the union said.

At the heart of the dispute between workers and the company are issues like reduced hours, particularly during busy periods such as promotional days, and compensation.

“We feel that Starbucks is putting profits over people, as our hours are consistently cut while we are expected to take on the same workload, and improve our results,” said Silas Starling, a barista at the Santa Clarita Starbucks, in the release. “Many of our partners attend school, have multiple jobs, or look after their families outside of work. We have to show up to understaffed shifts knowing that they will be exhausting. Our partners deserve better working conditions, and our customers deserve a proper experience. By joining the union, we can make positive changes in the workplace in order to better grow our community.”

In a statement, Starbucks spokesperson Rachel Wall said the company is “committed to delivering on our promise to offer a bridge to a better future to all Starbucks partners.”

“At Starbucks we believe that our direct relationship as partners is core to the experiences we create in our stores, and we respect our partners rights to have a choice on the topic of union,” Wall added.

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