Pulling shots of espresso has been supplanted by cocktail shaker-gripping raised fists by many Starbucks employees across the nation, including in Texas, as a wave of unionization is rushing through the caffeinated confines of the Fortune 500 company.
The effort began in Buffalo last year when workers at two stores voted to unionize. Since then, over 150 stores have followed suit, including now four in Texas.
“We believe that the best way to truly inspire and nourish the human spirit is to organize for greater justice, greater equality, and a greater vision of what life can be for Starbucks workers,” reads the Starbucks Workers United website.
In short, those unionizing want to collectively bargain more benefits into their contracts with corporate — things like higher wages, some seeking a $25 per hour wage; more consistent assignment of hours; elongated training periods; and miscellaneous benefits.
Now with two unionized stores in San Antonio and two in Austin, the national wave is reaching Texas.
Democratic congressional candidate and former Austin city councilman Greg Casar spent the early part of last week visiting each of the unionized Starbucks locations in Texas. Casar — whose political rise began with the Workers Defense Project, an organization that acts like a union but doesn’t file taxes like one — was joined by progressive politicians from both cities in support of the employees’ efforts.
“I am disheartened to hear about the anti-union posture of Starbucks,”...
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