Starbucks Workers’ National Bargaining Table

The recently-formed Starbucks Workers United union secured a BIG win by setting the stage for a national bargaining table rather than allowing the corporate employer to divvy up differing contracts store-by-store or even state-by-state. For workers, this is a huge deal. It surmounts massive worker power that can be mobilized all at once rather than piecemealed together at different times. When contracts are set in different ways, that helps divide up the workforce so that companies can stratify protections, pay, benefits, and more. Imagine if this is how grocery, fast food, auto, and retail contracts worked!

As always, we’re stronger together.

Thus far, SWU has unionized over 10,000 employees across 400 stores. The plan is for each union store to have its own delegate at the bargaining table. Principles for a labor accord are expected to begin near the end of this month. Agreements would still be subject to the final step of ratification by the individual stores.

The union’s bargaining demands include a base pay of $20 per hour, expanded paid time off, guarantees for consistent scheduling, a fair process for organizing stores, and more.

In Reuters, a professor of labor history at Cornell pointed out that a national bargaining table would be beneficial for both sides, considering the hundreds of sites: "It's not like Starbucks has a whole troupe of labor relations people who can run out to these different locations and bargain.

But the fight’s been long and tumultuous. Turns out, behemoth corporations making billions of dollars think they can squash most organizing. But from blatant union-busting, the closure of 23 organizing stores, and intimidation, the National Labor Review Board and courts aren’t having it. Thus far, Starbucks has been ordered to reopen said stores, provide backpay, and even offer apology videos. When workers stand strong together, it shows!