Dear Brian Niccol,
We, the undersigned stores, are announcing our intent to join with the 500 other stores who have already formed a union to make Starbucks a stronger company. We are Starbucks’ most precious resource, and we demand to be treated as such. As you’ve settled into the company over the last month, we’ve heard some of your goals for the future of our company, particularly around the partner and customer experience. We wholeheartedly agree with these goals, and believe our union and the company collaborating together is the best way to make that happen. With that in mind, we wanted to tell you about a few issues we see in our stores across the country.
Starbucks claims to aim for a 3rd place environment, but we struggle to maintain that when we don’t have enough staffing to meet even minimum production demands. Partners have raised this concern over and over, and it’s disappointing that we have not seen meaningful changes. Making matters worse, we see an emphasis on cutting hours even further in our stores on a daily basis, even when we are already understaffed. Workers are sent home and call-outs go unfilled, all in the name of saving a little labor. At the same time, we find too often that we can’t afford our bills and basic necessities because we are not getting the hours we need. We have had to watch our coworkers going hungry because they cannot afford food and rent. This is why we are organizing- to win strong contracts that guarantee the staffing and scheduling we need to be successful in our stores and our lives.
Our customers are our community. We love being able to show up for them every day, and we hate when we can’t. Unfortunately, it’s become consistent that we do not have the staffing we need to give our customers the service they deserve. When one person is filling four roles, we can’t connect with customers or even ensure we’re able to create quality products for them. We’ve seen this lead to too many of our customers choosing to not come back, and we can’t blame them when they are getting rushed service and drinks that are poorly crafted. This is not the experience we want to create, and we have to change that. When we’re able to work together and fix these problems, imagine how great an experience we can deliver. We are organizing for ourselves and our customers.
In your recent letter to SBWU’s bargaining delegation, you said your goal was “to make Starbucks the best place to work for every partner, in every store.” We are writing to you because we think it’s important for you to hear what the reality is in our stores. Many of us have seen a serious lack of accountability for our store leaders, and the tools we are given to escalate our issues frequently go nowhere or even result in retaliation towards those speaking out. Without union representation, this leaves us subject to harassment and poor working conditions with no recourse and nowhere to turn. We agree with your vision for our company, and we believe our union is the best way to achieve it.
At the end of the day, we miss the sense of pride many of us used to have when we put our green aprons on each shift, and we see a clear path to getting it back by organizing and winning strong contracts. We deserve to walk into our stores every day knowing we have the tools to create a positive workplace and a great environment for customers. We look forward to joining Starbucks Workers United and working together with you to build a better Starbucks.
In solidarity,
The Partners at
- Ward’s Corner – Norfolk, VA
- Cowan Crossing – Fredericksburg, VA
- Route 251 & I-80 – Peru, IL
- Sheffield & Diversey – Chicago, IL
- Colfax & Ivy – Denver, CO
- Barnes & Cedar Hills – Portland, OR
- Piedmont & Sidney Marcus – Atlanta, GA
- Epping Main St – Epping, NH
- Spencer St (Manchester) – Manchester, MA
- 36th & Robinson – Norman, OK
- Fruitville Pike – Lancaster, PA
- Los Altos & Pyramid – Sparks, NV
- Rockaway Town Square – Rockaway, NJ
- 166 7th Avenue – Brooklyn, NY
- 2 Broadway – NYC, NY
- Shoppes at Lake Park (West Valley) – West Valley, UT
- 18th & Arch – Philadelphia, PA
- Lewis Center, Olentangy Crossing – Columbus, OH
- Lincoln & Wilson – Chicago, IL
- 1100 Van Ness – San Francisco, CA
- MacArthur and Estillo San Leandro – San Leandro, CA
- San Marino – San Marino, CA
- SW Cedar Hills and SW Hall – Portland, OR
- Ashford Dunwoody & Ravinia – Dunwoody, GA
- Olympic & Doheny – Los Angeles, CA
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