Thanks for your interest in Starbucks Workers United. Whether you’re a partner, ally, or a member of the media, we’re thrilled you’re interested in our mission to build a better Starbucks for everyone.
Before sending an email, please check out the FAQs.
Starbucks Partners – Interested in organizing your store or getting connected to local resources? Fill out this interest form or send us a text at (559) 272-9848.
Customers, Allies & Supporters – Interested in supporting our union? Sign the “No Contract, No Coffee Pledge” and check out our merch store. All proceeds support the Starbucks Workers United strike fund.
Members of the Media – Email us at starbucksmedia@workers-united.org
We know that collectively we have more power than any one of us does alone. We also know that a union contract is the strongest way to lock in the support and protections we need to do our jobs.
Without a union, workers are “at will” employees, giving a company the authority to discipline or terminate whenever they want except for discriminatory reasons (race, gender, religion, etc.). Decisions are made by the company with no input from us, the partners.
With a union, power is shared between workers and the company. Once a union is certified, the company has a duty to bargain in good faith with the union. With collective bargaining, we gain a real voice to address the issues we face at Starbucks.
If you’re a partner and interested in learning more about union power and organizing your store, visit our Take Action page or text us at (559) 272-9848.
No! We are Starbucks partners. At the core of it, we love crafting beverages and connecting with our communities. All of us want Starbucks to succeed.
We also know that in this current system, we can’t be our best selves. We can’t reach our full potential at work if we’re understaffed, overextended, or feel unsafe. Many of us have dedicated years to this company, and those of us who are newer see untapped possibilities.
Starbucks is one of the most profitable companies on the planet and the premier leader in the coffee industry. We’re organizing because we know we can improve this company, transform this industry, and form a collaborative, creative, forward-thinking, justice-seeking union for the 21st century that allows us to advocate for ourselves.
Starbucks Workers United baristas are proud members of Workers United. We draw inspiration from the grassroots worker-led founding of Workers United. It emerged from the struggles of immigrant garment workers fighting for safer conditions and decent pay. These workers, traditionally overlooked in job protections, endured tremendous retaliation for their efforts.
Workers United represents workers across many industries – laundries and warehouses, textile factories and manufacturing plants, and restaurants and coffee shops. Joining this union means that we are part of a community of people working in industries of all kinds, some similar to the work that we do, others wildly different. We get the benefit of learning from all of their experience protecting and caring for their friends and coworkers.
As part of Workers United, we are working to transform Starbucks into a better, more forward thinking, justice seeking place for everyone.
Dues are variable depending on your region – but they’ll only be a very small percentage of your weekly pay depending on the amount of hours you work. Partners are not currently paying dues, because you only start paying dues once a union contract has been negotiated, democratically voted upon, and ratified.
Dues fund various avenues that support workers, including legal assistance, staff support, educational training sessions for stewards, communications, and assistance with organizing efforts.
Our union gives Starbucks partners a real voice at work, and a union contract is the strongest way to lock in the support and protections we need to do our jobs.
With a union contract in place, partners will have due process and elected worker representatives, called shop stewards, to represent our interests. These shop stewards are workers inside our own stores.
If we have a problem, we can still independently go to management and try to resolve it without filing a formal grievance. However, if it doesn’t get resolved, we have a right to get another person involved and file a grievance. If necessary, a neutral judge, called an arbitrator, would force the company to correct an unfair action.
As it stands now, higher-ups at Starbucks always have the final say.
No, retaliating against workers for organizing their unions is illegal. By law, an employer cannot take any benefits away from you when you vote to have a union. The existing benefits serve as the starting point in negotiations with the goal of securing improvements.
