A KSU student responsible for the creation of a union election campaign at his Starbucks location discussed why the store voted against unionization, what a union means to workers and the experiences he faced with union-busting.
On March 12th, the Dallas Highway Starbucks voted 10-7 against filing to unionize. Though the union had a potential majority when they filed for election on Feb. 14th, the three votes that changed their choice flipped the results of an already close election.
In order for a Starbucks to trigger a union election, they must have 30% of baristas fill out a union card, but the Dallas Highway location had over 50% of baristas file.
Around a month later when the election happened, that majority support turned into a minority. Ethan Milam, a Kennesaw State University student responsible for pushing this union election forward, reflected on why his Starbucks voted against unionization.
Though around 85% of union elections at Starbucks locations are successful, it’s easy to understand why baristas are wary of voting in support of a union. On a large scale, baristas deciding which way to vote experience significant union busting efforts from the Starbucks corporation.
On a personal level, Milam believes that the union busting efforts at his location are responsible for the three votes changing their minds. These anti-union efforts included anti-union signs being posted around their store, insinuating that pro-union people aren’t promoted and the spreading of rumors and misinformation.
Milam explained that the reasons for his store being in the 15% minority of locations to vote against unionization includes intimidation from management.
“Pressure from management was definitely the hardest thing,” Milam said.
“My manager flipped out the first day we filed our union cards. He came into the store in tears. He hid in the back.”
Milam says that, though there was pressure on baristas to vote anti-union, management in Starbucks also faced pressure to keep their store not unionized.
“It all starts at the top, with the top person pressuring the person under them, the person under them pressures the person under them. It goes all the way down the chain, down to us,” Milam said.
Managers whose Starbucks location is unionized have a lower chance at promotion, according to Milam. “He said that it was the worst thing that had ever happened in his career, our filing for the union election,” Milam said.
Whether or not someone chooses to vote against or in support of a union, Milam says that they all want the same things, “keeping and maintaining” worker benefits.
“It’s just a matter of do you think Starbucks is going to succeed in fighting the union hard enough?” Milam said.
To Milam, being unionized is the best way to protect worker rights and push for better conditions and wages. One of the most important benefits that come with unionization is the ability to invoke their Weingarten rights, which gives employees the right to a union representative during investigatory interviews or conflict with management.
At his last job, Milam was a part of a Kroger that was unionized, where they used their Weingarten rights.
“Whenever we needed something that, for whatever reason, the manager might push back, or for example if a manager wrote us up, we could call in Karen [the union representative] as sort of back up, somebody who knows the rulebook front and back and can advise us what to do in certain scenarios.”
Once he began working at the Dallas Highway Starbucks, he realized there was a need for a union.
“There was a day where we got snowed out and they sent me home after like 30 minutes of my shift, and I was scheduled for like six or seven hours. They let us know that they’ll pay us for three hours, no matter if your shifts are four or eight or ten hours,” Explained Milam. The baristas “used to get inclement weather pay,” for the full shift.
Milam explains that Starbucks “on a whim” could decide to take back benefits, “But if we get a contract these things are written into stone, legally, and you have the security [of knowing your benefits are secure.]”
Even though most Starbucks locations aren’t unionized, all locations benefit from the union’s pressure to implement better working conditions and benefits.
“The battle of communication between the union and the Starbucks, with two different narratives, the union being like ‘hey we pressured Starbucks and they’re doing this,’ and the Starbucks corporate being like ‘no, we kindly gifted this out of our own hearts,’” He said.
One example Milam gives is a recent change in mobile ordering, “We used to never be able to turn off mobile ordering, but they just had a new update, under certain circumstances we can turn off mobile ordering if our line is backed up to a certain degree. And that was one of the things the union proposed months ago in their contract.”
Though the Dallas Highway Starbucks voted against unionizing, Starbucks Workers United, the Starbucks union, is continuing negotiation efforts for the creation of a union contract, which would give unionized stores improved benefits, wages and working conditions.
