Unionization efforts come as voters in the midterm election are tasked with deciding whether or not to codify Tennessee's right-to-work law.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Labor union organizing in East Tennessee dates back to the nineteenth century. At the time, workers in factories and mines demanded better pay, safer workplaces and job security.
Fast forward more than a century and those now known as "essential workers" of the COVID-19 pandemic have similar demands.
"You're putting your health on the line for a company, and are they showing up for you as they're calling you essential? Not really," said Maggie Carter, a barista at Starbucks on Merchants Drive in Knoxville.
Carter began working for Starbucks three years ago.
"We love our job," Carter said, referring to herself and her colleagues. "We love coming in here and seeing our regulars every single day. We memorize their drinks, we know their families, we talk to their children."
Carter said it was her love for the job that led her to take action.
Six months ago, the Merchants Drive Starbucks location became the first one in the South to form a union.
"My store had [its] election on March 29 and we were certified on April 4. We were the ninth store out of now over 250 who have unionized," Carter explained.
Since then, workers' efforts to unionize have continued to grow across East Tennessee.
This comes as voters in the midterm election are tasked with deciding whether or not to codify Tennessee's right-to-work law. If...
By Aditya Kalra NEW DELHI, Sept 30 (Reuters) – Indian tax authorities have faulted appliance makers Haier, Godrej & Boyce and Blue Star for not detecting documents fabricated by a spurious rec...