Workers at a northern Indiana Starbucks store plan to vote to unionize, according to an announcement Tuesday.
If successful, the Valparaiso store will become the second union location in Indiana. They would become part of the national union representing over 270 Starbucks locations nationwide, Workers United.
One of the main issues that drove about 18 of more than 20 Valparaiso employees to sign union cards has been the “really intense restrictions” on the number of hours they work, according to Reagan Skaggs, barista and organizing committee member.
“Health insurance, sick time, personal time, these are all supposed to be benefits that are available to us. However, they are earned benefits. They are earned based on how many hours you have,” Skaggs said. “We're having a really hard time making our minimum so that we can keep our health insurance.”
Starbucks offers some of the highest hourly wages for workers in its industry, starting around $15 an hour.
“If we don't make 40 hours, we don't get a paycheck worth 40 hours,” she said. “We get a paycheck worth 30 hours or 20 hours or 12 hours. And that's a lot less money to work with even at $15 an hour.”
A Starbucks spokesperson disputed those allegations in an emailed statement and said the company provides workers opportunities to pick up extra hours at their stores and others nearby. They also noted that part-time workers only need 240 hours every three months to meet eligibility requirements for healthcare and other...
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