New Berlin Starbucks hops on unionization movement, filing petition with National Labor Relations Board

NEW BERLIN, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Employees at the New Berlin Starbucks on National Avenue announced Friday morning, July 14 they're seeking union representation.

An employee said the New Berlin Starbucks has 23 employees, and most of them signed authorization cards and petitioned Starbucks' CEO.

"We're just tired of all the empty promises of getting full-time hours or not getting scheduled," said Alexia Alvarado, barista.

In a letter to Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan, Alvarado and her coworkers explained their reasoning to unionize. They're looking for a living wage, reliable hours, accountability, and consistent labor allotment.

Alvarado said these are issues her store has been dealing with for a while but what made her get on board to unionize came after she said a manager made racially insensitive remarks.

"For me personally, it was the racism that I experienced," Alvarado.

CBS 58 reached out to that manager and district manager for comment. We are still waiting for a response.

According to a Starbucks Workers United spokesperson, over 300 stores across the country have unionized but none have been given a written contract. Alvarado said she remains optimistic.

"I'm still very hopeful. I know that our store together has worked so hard for this and I know it'll happen," said Alvarado.

A spokesperson from Starbucks made a statement in regard to the New Berlin location's petition saying in part:

"We respect the right of all partners to make their own decisions about union representation, and we are committed to engaging in good faith collective bargaining for each store where a union has been appropriately certified."

Their full statement is below: 

As a company, we believe that our direct relationship as partners — where we have the flexibility to listen and learn from one another, address issues and share in success — is core to the culture and experiences we create in our stores.

To that end, wherever we can quickly and broadly improve partner benefits and perks, our history demonstrates we have. We recognize the pandemic created challenges for service workers across the globe. That’s why we’ve made more than $1.4 billion in investments over the past year to improve the experience in our stores and for our partners.

Notably, we continue to invest in innovative new benefits, the deployment of new time-saving technologies like portable cold foamers and Clover Vertica machines and new store formats. These efforts to reinvent our stores and further enhance our industry leading partner benefits are designed to foster opportunity for our partners and evolve our business in ways that allow our partners to connect with customers in new, personal and engaging ways.

Counter to claims made by Workers United, Starbucks has consistently offered hourly partners the best benefits and perks in the industry, including:

• An average wage of $17.50 per hour, and a wage range for hourly partners between $15 and $23 per hour (or a total compensation, with benefits, of approximately $27 per hour). Note: Hourly wages do not include tips.
• The ability for our customers to reward partners through tips on mobile orders and credit and debit card transactions.
• Comprehensive medical, dental and vision coverage options for eligible partners and their families.
• 100% tuition reimbursement for a four-year bachelor’s degree through the Starbucks College Achievement Program.
• Paid parental leave, family expansion reimbursement programs and increased paid partner and family sick-time accrual rates.
• Reimbursement for required government DACA renewal fees.
• Medical travel reimbursement for partners and family members who are required to travel for access to abortion or gender-affirming care.
• Support for mental health and well-being, with up to 20 free therapy sessions each year for partners and eligible family members.
• Equity ownership in the company through annual Bean Stock grants, which have awarded more than $2 billion in additional earnings to partners, to-date. That’s why our employees are called partners—we each have an ownership stake in the future success of our business.
• 401(k) matching up to the first 5% of eligible pay contributed by partners each pay period.
• Innovative resources to help our partners better manage student loan debt and a new incentivized savings programs to help partners develop financial security and freedom.

As a result, more than 97% of our partners at our more than 9,300 U.S. company-owned stores have chosen to maintain a direct employment relationship with Starbucks. We recognize that a subset of partners feel differently — and we respect their right to organize and to engage in lawful union activities without fear of reprisal or retaliation.

As a next step, we welcome the opportunity for partners at our New Berlin store in Wisconsin to vote in a neutral, secret ballot election conducted by the NLRB—which allows all partners to make their own informed decision regarding union representation.

To be clear: We respect the right of all partners to make their own decisions about union representation, and we are committed to engaging in good faith collective bargaining for each store where a union has been appropriately certified.

Lastly, to address some of the other claims raised by partners in their letter to Starbucks ceo Laxman Narasimhan…

Partner work schedules are published on a regular, rolling basis three-weeks in advance and are built based on recorded partner availability and the unique operational needs of each store. To provide additional schedule flexibility for our partners, we also provide partners the ability to view and pick-up additional shifts at their home store and other stores within their district.

As we work to more consistently deliver the Starbucks experience, we’ve also launched several new tools and resources to provide our local retail leaders with the information they need to better allocate partner resources to meet the needs of individual stores. Our retail leaders have the flexibility to build and adjust staffing schedules to reflect the unique and dynamic needs of each store. By combining historical data and more robust forecasting, we’re working balance store resources and expected customer demand—ensuring partners are on the floor when they’re needed most. We also implemented adjustments to our Availability and Scheduling policy in Oct. 2022, in direct response to partner feedback garnered through partner surveys, collaboration sessions and direct input, that they wanted more consistency and stability in their schedules.

Of note, will also share an excerpt from CEO Laxman Narasimhan’s Q2 fiscal 2023 earnings remarks countering claims that we continue to reduce partner hours:

“The investments we made – in our partners, stores and technology – are already producing a return, whether it’s through productivity gains or partner satisfaction. We are pleased with the multi-faceted progress to date. For example: Barista turnover reduced by over 9% from a high in March Q2 fiscal year 2022, leading to fewer new hires per store. We have been able to increase the average hours per Barista per week by 4% year- over-year, a metric we know is one of many meaningful inputs in achieving the desired compensation of our partners. Clearly, partner scheduling is a real opportunity, and we are laser focused on it.”