'Years of tireless organizing': Starbucks in negotiations with Starbucks Workers United

On Feb. 27, Starbucks and Starbucks Workers United, representing unionized workers and locations across the country, announced that they agreed to begin talks to accomplish collective bargaining, litigation resolution between the groups and processes for workers to organize.

In their announcement of the plans for discussion, SWU attributed their success in mediation discussions with Starbucks to their support in numbers and said that the anticipated resolutions were possible because of thousands of union members speaking out against Starbucks.

Students at UNC organizing in support of unionized Starbucks workers — through organizations like Students Against Starbucks or communication from members of SWU — felt like the win over Starbucks shows the power and influence of student organizing. UNC students united with students at 24 other universities in the most recent public demonstration against Starbucks’ ”union-busting” tactics.

In the spring of 2023, National Labor Relations Board Administrative Law Judge Michael A. Rosas found Starbucks guilty of violating the National Labor Relations Act “hundreds of times.” Some of the violations include unlawfully firing workers who are organizing and offering increased wages and benefits to non-unionized employees.

Rosas said egregious and widespread misconduct by Starbucks demonstrated a disregard for the fundamental rights of employees. The company has over 500 pending cases waiting to be heard by the NLRB.

UNC student and organizer Toby Posel said that events at the University have served their purpose working alongside years of tireless organizing by Starbucks' workers and baristas.

“I think this campaign serves as a model for what student organizing is capable of doing,” Posel said. “Particularly for [a] company like Starbucks, which cares a lot about its brand image, cares a lot about the progressive reputation that it has [and] cares a lot about young people patronizing their stores.”

UNC organizers plan to stop all events related to protesting Starbucks until discussions between the company and SWU finish due to a non-disparagement agreement, Posel said. He said he would support Starbucks if they continued to work with and support the union by negotiating in good faith.

Lindsay Lopez, a UNC student and member of the Starbucks National Communication team, was present at a meeting for national organizers when she said the union’s collaboration with Starbucks was announced.

“I was sitting in a meeting with 30 other organizers around the country, and there was no better feeling than what they announced,” Lopez said. “They basically said, ‘Hey, we are done with the ‘Cut the Contract’ campaign, and we are done with advocating for a boycott because the workers won.’ It was such an emotional moment.”

 As a sign of good faith, Starbucks is planning to provide SWU members with credit card tipping, a benefit previously introduced in 2022 but withheld from unionized stores.

Samuel Scarborough, a student who usually attends the events in support of unionized Starbucks workers, said that although the result is significant, he is still wary. He quoted poet Maya Angelou, saying, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time," about Starbucks’ actions in the past.

“Even though this is definitely a win, we still have to stay on guard,” Scarborough said. “We still have to make sure every step of the way that they’re following through with the promises that they’re making.”

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