BROOKLYN, NY — Starbucks workers in downtown Brooklyn have filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to unionize with Starbucks Workers United on Monday.
The Hoyt-Schermerhorn store had 9 employees signed onto the petition.
“Our hours are constantly cut and limited, and we are consistently undermined as workers in spite of up-selling our products, connecting with new and returning customers, and being one of the busiest and highest-earning districts in Brooklyn,” workers wrote in a letter to CEO Laxman Narasimhan.
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“We also experience an unsafe working environment and management that refuses to take action to protect us on the job — from sexual harassment to being physically assaulted. This is why we are organizing.”
More than 10,000 union baristas, at 428 stores, have unionized since 2021, according to Starbucks Workers United. In 2022, the Bath Beach Starbucks became the first unionized location in Brooklyn.
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Stephanie Perry, who works at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn location, said workers are being taken advantage of, expected to provide consistent experiences to customers while having to deal with lack of management support on shifts and shortages on products.
“We only want what we signed up for, consistent hours, staffing and hours sorted correctly, and a safe and motivational work environment so that we as partners can continue to provide the ‘above and beyond customer experience’ Starbucks touts,” Perry added.
In February, workers at the Park Slope Starbucks location also filed a petition to unionize.
“We believe that our direct relationship as partners is core to the experiences we create in our stores, and we respect our partners rights to have a choice on the topic of unions,” Starbucks spokesperson Rachel Wall said in a statement. “We are committed to delivering on our promise to offer a bridge to a better future to all Starbucks partners.”
Starbucks is currently working on a framework with Workers United to handle contract negotiations at unionized locations.
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