another unionized starbucks
Bustling Medical Center Starbucks joins Upper Kirby outpost as second to unionize
Med Center Starbucks employees are now part of the union.
Another Houston-area Starbucks plans to join the growing movement of unionized coffee shops. Workers at the 6400 Fannin St. location announced their intentions via a letter distributed by Starbucks Workers United.
In the letter, which is signed by nine employees “and those who wish to remain anonymous,” they note that their decision to organize is based on a high rate of employee turnover at the store, which the authors attribute to labor cuts, insufficient wage increases, and other “unaddressed partner concerns.”
“We understand these are not issues unique to our store or our store’s management, but rather problems that exist on a company level and ones that the lowest-wage workers of this company are looking to address,” they add.
In addition, the authors state that Starbucks presented its baristas as “essential workers” during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, giving them the same title as the doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals working in the office tower above them. They write that they maintained the highest “Customer Connection” store in their district throughout this period.
In September, workers at the Starbucks at Shepherd Drive and Harold Street became the first in Houston to form a union. They voted 11-3 in favor of the effort.
At the time, Starbucks issued a statement that acknowledged its employees’ rights to unionize but stated “we’ve been clear in our belief that we are better together as partners, without a union between us, and that conviction has not changed.”
If 30 percent of the location’s employees sign cards or petitions stating they wish to form a union, an election will be held. If a majority of employees vote for the union, they the location will be unionized. To date, more than 250 Starbucks across the country have unionized, according to Starbucks Workers United.
