Starbucks workers at Marquette University's campus organize union

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Starbucks workers at Marquette University's campus announced on Wednesday, Dec. 20 that they are organizing a union. 

They are the first in the City of Milwaukee to file a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to unionize with Starbucks Workers United. 

Employees at the location say working there has been nothing short of “dysfunctional.”

"We have this staff, and the company is not allotting us the labor to employ everyone on a regular basis," said Gabriel Schmitz, an employee at the location. 

Schmitz began working at the Starbucks on Marquette University’s campus two years ago.

“I’m on my fifth manager in two years. It’s a little – it’s a little hard," said Schmitz.

That’s why Schmitz, along with 12 other employees say they sent a letter to Starbuck's CEO Laxman Narasimhan, demanding to be recognized as a union. 

“A lot of people aren’t having their needs met. They don’t make enough to make their bills, to pay rent and in response to that, they were told to file for partial unemployment," said Schmitz. 

In the letter, employees cite many managers leaving and the cafe not being properly maintained, with backup wastewater clogging drains and creating a "rancid stench."

“We run out of product a lot, our machines break, and we’re just expected to push through with no real resolution," said Schmitz.

Marquette now joins a nationwide movement of more than 9,000 baristas fighting for better wages and working conditions. 

In 2020, an Oak Creek Starbucks was the first to unionize in the state. 

Since December of 2021, more than 380 Starbucks locations in 42 states have successfully unionized. 

In a statement sent to CBS58, Starbucks says "We welcome the opportunity for partners at our West Wisconsin & 16th store in Milwaukee to vote in a neutral, secret ballot election conducted by the N-L-R-B — which allows all partners to make their own informed decision regarding union representation." 

Schmitz says until the company changes its approach, he believes more Starbucks locations will continue to unionize.

“We want to work. And that’s why we have to do this because we were promised something, and it wasn’t given to us," he said.