Workers at several Austin Starbucks locations have announced that they will form unions, a month after a shop in San Antonio became the first Starbucks in Texas with a unionized staff.
The first Austin location to start the union process was on 24th and Nueces streets near the University of Texas. After that, workers at Starbucks on 45th Street and Lamar Boulevard and 22nd and Rio Grande also announced their intent to unionize.
In a March 7th letter to the company CEO Kevin Johnson, six workers representing Starbucks Workers United stated, “At one time we enjoyed some of the best benefits in any industry, and a company culture that made for a wonderful place to work that was reflected in our excellent customers services.”
“Over the past several years, however, we have an experienced an erosion of that company culture… We have felt increasingly pressured to do more with less, in terms of both labor and product. We have experienced a lack of support and competence on the part of htose in positions of authority in the company, who are out of touch with the day to day realities and challenges of the operation of our stores.”
The workers said they would advocate for stricter accountability for mid-level managers and higher wages to match Austin’s rising cost of living.
A spokesperson from Starbucks said, “We are listening and learning from the partners in these stores as we always do across the country. From the beginning, we’ve been clear in our belief that we are better together as partners, without a union between us…”
