Many among us can’t face the day ahead until they get their morning fix of caffeine, and Starbucks is a popular choice for procuring a morning beverage. While the coffee chain giant has long been known for employee perks and strong employee culture, some baristas in Buffalo, New York, recently formed the first union at a corporate-owned Starbucks store. The employees cited problems associated with understaffing, among other things.
The union’s recent election victory means that Starbucks will have to sit down and negotiate in good faith a collective bargaining agreement to cover the terms and conditions of those workers’ employment. Depending on the terms negotiated, believe it or not, changes to how and what you can order at a unionized café may be on the horizon.
Labor agreements typically cover wages, insurance benefits, grievance and arbitration procedures, workplace policies, and a host of other issues affecting employment. The employer and union go through negotiations to come to an agreement on specific language on each of the terms and then those terms control. For example, if a company agrees in a collective bargaining agreement that it will have a minimum staffing level for a shift, then a union can file a grievance seeking damages if the employer fails to keep staffing levels at the minimum. In a non-union setting, this typically is not a concern due to the absence of a grievance and arbitration procedure.
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