Nov. 23, 2022 "Canadian workers say they face barriers amid growing union push at Starbucks": Today I found this article by Rosa Saba on CTV news and the Financial Post:
Unionization among Canadian Starbucks employees is starting to gain traction, organizers say, but much like their U.S. counterparts, workers face barriers and alleged anti-union activity by the coffee giant.
More than a year before the recent wave of Starbucks unionization in the U.S. began,
a store in Victoria unionized with the United Steelworkers in August 2020
-- and workers across the country took note.
Now, there are six unionized locations across B.C. and Alberta, and organizers say there are more in the works.
"I think the pandemic has caused people to look
at their lives,
their work,
their community
in a bit of a different way,"
said Scott Lunny, USW's director for Western Canada.
Since late last year,
more than 250 stores south of the border have voted to unionize,
according to the U.S. National Labor Relations Board.
But a successful certification vote is just one step in unionizing;
workers don't start paying dues until a contract has been negotiated.
And though contract talks with some U.S. stores have begun, no agreements have been reached, The Associated Press has reported.
Last Thursday, workers at more than a hundred U.S. stores went on strike for the day to protest working conditions.
That makes the Victoria store the only location in North America to have a collective agreement with the company.
In some cases, stores in the same geographical area could organize in clusters as one bargaining unit, said Lunny.
That's what happened for two stores in Surrey and Langley, B.C., which successfully certified as one bargaining unit. In Lethbridge, Alta., five stores held an unsuccessful certification vote.
Lunny said service workers broadly have become interested in unionization over the pandemic and especially in recent months amid higher inflation.
In deciding to unionize, the Victoria workers wanted more support regarding
harassment by customers
and clearer communication about COVID-19 practices,
said shift supervisor and union representative Sarah Broad.
Broad said she's noticed a big difference
since the contract was ratified, with "tenfold" improvements in health and safety.
The workers also got wage increases.
But it hasn't been all smooth sailing. Earlier this year, Starbucks said it would give workers across Canada and other jurisdictions raises and other improvements.
However, Broad said a letter was posted in the back room of the Victoria store explaining they wouldn't be getting the raise because of the union contract.
Starbucks spokeswoman Carly Suppa said in an email this is because
the Victoria store's contract includes annual wage increases.
USW filed a labour complaint on behalf of the Victoria store. It's one of several labour complaints filed by the union on behalf of Starbucks stores, said Lunny,
one of which -- accusing the company of disciplining a union organizer in Lethbridge -- is still active.
Workers in the U.S. have also been facing alleged anti-union activity,
with the labour relations board asking a federal court to intervene in instances where Starbucks fired union organizers.
Suppa said Starbucks has never disciplined an employee for engaging in lawful union activity in the U.S. or Canada.
The raise announced in May was also implemented in the U.S., except for those who voted to unionize or petitioned to hold a union election, The Associated Press reported in May.
In a statement posted to one.starbucks.com, a Starbucks website launched in February,
the company said U.S. labour law restricts
the improvements it can make to wages and benefits during the unionization process
and when a store has unionized,
but said the recent improvements will likely be negotiated at the bargaining table.
York University labour law professor David J. Doorey said while Starbucks' position has some legal basis under U.S. labour law,
it's also possible the labour board will see the company's actions as unlawful reprisal for unionizing.
USW's Lunny said he believes Starbucks always had the capacity to
pay higher wages
and invest more in health and safety,
but "they really didn't get around to it until there was a threat of unionization."
"I do think (the raises are) about preventing unionization."
Suppa said the company continues to invest in
wages,
benefits,
policies,
safety and training,
and said Starbucks believes it can do more for its employees
by working side-by-side
instead of across a negotiating table.
On the Canadian version of its informational website, launched in July, the company urges workers to
do research before signing a union card
and says that if certified,
workers will no longer be able to address their concerns with the company directly.
Starbucks workers in Central Canada are also interested in unionization
but high turnover has been a barrier to successful drives,
said Darlene Jalbert, the organizing co-ordinator for Ontario and Atlantic Canada.
It's easier to certify in B.C. and some other jurisdictions, said economist and labour expert Jim Stanford,
because they have "one-step" certification where a certain majority of signatures counts as certification.
In Alberta and Ontario, signatures are just a first step -- the vote to certify can happen days, weeks or even months later, he said.
Starbucks is a mix of
corporate-run locations
and licensed locations, such as the ones in grocery stores.
There are almost 1,000 corporate locations in Canada
and almost 500 licensed locations,
where the employer is not Starbucks but the licensing company.
Stanford said
hospitality is difficult to unionize
-- and keep unionized
-- in part because of turnover,
but also because of the often-fragmented nature of companies like Starbucks,
including the mix of corporate and licensed stores.
Though the Victoria store was the only unionized one in Canada when it certified,
there were a handful of unionized Starbucks locations in the past.
Stanford said though Starbucks employees are getting a lot of attention for their efforts,
workers across all industries are turning to unions in the wake of the pandemic.
Broad said she thinks the movement in the U.S. is helping fuel interest in Canada.
"I'm really hoping to see it spread across all of the provinces. And just for it to be more of a norm."
With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 23, 2022.
Amid growing union push at Starbucks, workers face barriers | CTV News
Baristas at an experimental Starbucks-Amazon Go store in New York say the tie-up between the coffee chain and e-commerce giant has
doubled their workload
with no additional pay.
Some 30 Starbucks Corp. employees at the Times Square location will decide Dec. 15 whether to join Starbucks Workers United,
which has already unionized hundreds of cafes in cities around the U.S. Amazon.com Inc.
itself has been roiled by labour activism at its warehouses, but this is the first time workers have sought to hold a union election at one of its retail locations.
The two companies launched the pilot partnership last year,
with the aim of using Amazon’s cashierless technology
and Starbucks’ mobile ordering to facilitate a fast and convenient experience for customers.
There are now two “Starbucks Pickup with Amazon Go” stores,
the one near Times Square
and another on Manhattan’s east side.
The locations are divided into three sections:
a Starbucks waiting area,
Amazon Go market
and a lounge.
The idea is for people to pick up a coffee ordered from the Starbucks app,
grab food from the Amazon Go
and then walk out without having to stand in line.
“At the beginning I realized, ‘Oh, we don’t get paid extra for this Amazon work,’” said one barista, who requested anonymity to avoid possible retaliation from their manager.
“There’s a whole plethora of new work that has to be done.”
Employees at the Times Square location joined colleagues at more than 100 Starbucks cafes who went on strike last month.
The union has organized campaigns nationwide,
with more than 250 successful store elections,
though momentum has slowed in recent months.
Amazon warehouse workers in Staten Island voted to join the Amazon Labor Union in April but the union lost two subsequent elections.
“From the beginning, 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,” a Starbucks spokesperson said in an email. Amazon declined to comment.
The two Seattle-based companies have branded the pilot stores as
effortless
and contactless
convenience.
Yet some employees say the concept has been anything but effortless.
“Half of our customers come in and leave because
they don’t even understand or comprehend what this is,”
the barista said.
One Starbucks worker stands near the entrance to serve as a concierge,
directing people to the coffee line
or Amazon Go.
Starbucks workers stock Amazon inventory,
such as prepared hot foods in the morning, which they say is a safety hazard.
Employees claim they have been mildly burned while heating up Amazon foods.
Management’s only response was to provide ointment, they said.
Employees also clean both the Starbucks and Amazon areas.
Amazon representatives worked frequently in the store when it first opened,
but now only come in a couple of times a week to check on the technology,
the workers said.
Employees, who filed for the union election in October,
say the difficult nature of the job,
compared with working at a regular Starbucks,
has fuelled high turnover.
—With assistance from Spencer Soper and Josh Eidelson.
https://financialpost.com/fp-work/workers-at-experimental-starbucks-amazon-store-push-to-unionize
This article of how Starbucks isn't treating or paying their employees very well reminds me of this:
"#MeToo movement becomes #WeToo in in victim-blaming Japan"/ "Outrage as women in Japan told not wear glasses in the workplace"
"You never look good when you are trying to make someone else look bad."- Unknown
Cham: Sometimes people need to be exposed for who they are hahah or maybe I should stop being petty
Tracy Au: There's a difference between trying to make someone look bad, and exposing them for who they are. It's like those #MeToo accusers and victims, they are plainly telling everybody about the perpetrators. They're not trying to make them look bad.
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