Starbucks store in Yucapia, CA that was targeted on social media for following Starbucks cup-writing policy seek election to join growing union of 12,000 baristas demanding Starbucks finalize strong contracts. Read the letter workers wrote to management:

Dear Brian Niccol,

We, the partners at Yucaipa and 6th are excited to announce our intent to unionize with Starbucks Workers United. Thousands of partners around the country are working together to fight for a better workplace, and we look forward to joining them. Starbucks has lost its way. We see it every day in our stores. We know you’re aware of the urgent need to turn things around, and we know we have the solutions to the problems the company is facing.

We strive to serve our community daily, but unfortunately corporate’s unreliability makes it more and more difficult to uphold our standards. After the company failed to protect workers in a time of need, we have decided to take action to protect ourselves and uphold the mission and values that we all have agreed on. Our act of unionizing is not to spite any individuals, but rather to ensure that both our customers and our partners are safe, uplifted, happy, and able to be genuine in a space that is safe and honest.

Demands include setting the record straight about the policy to protect the safety and privacy of every individual partner. We also demand that we be treated with general respect, that reasonable and safe goals be set, such as drive times, customer connection scores, and messages being written on cups. Facilities should be handled promptly to allow safe and consistent working conditions. Accountability should be held for all baristas, managers, and every patron entering the store.

We are unionizing to continue to serve and uplift our community. We will continue to treat every person who walks in our door with kindness and respect, but also wish to receive that same respect in return. 

As a majority of baristas and shift supervisors at the Yucaipa and 6th, we hereby demand that Starbucks voluntarily recognize Workers United as the exclusive collective-bargaining representative of all full-time and regular part-time baristas and shift supervisors at this store. We are willing to demonstrate our majority support to a neutral party or to a Starbucks representative. We also hereby demand to bargain a collective bargaining agreement.

In solidarity,

the partners at Yucaipa and 6th