Bay Area Starbucks Workers Join Nationwide Push to Unionize

KQED's Forum

Last week, workers at the Starbucks at Embarcadero Cove in Oakland were among the latest in the Bay Area to try forming a union at their store. They join workers at close to 300 Starbucks locations nationwide who have petitioned or voted to form unions since December of 2021 when a store in Buffalo New York successfully formed Starbucks Workers United. Workers in San Francisco, Berkeley, Mill Valley and Oakland Starbucks have attempted to form unions with varying degrees of success. Starbucks, with more than 3,000 stores nationwide, has refused to negotiate contracts with unionized stores and has closed some of the branches where workers voted to unionize. The organizing efforts are part of a wave of unionization in various industries across the country. We’ll talk about what Starbucks workers are hoping to achieve and how the company has reacted to unionization.

Guests:

Harley Shaiken, professor specializing in labor issues, UC Berkeley

Renata Geraldo, journalist covering Starbucks, The Seattle Times

Naomi Martinez, works at a Starbucks in Phoenix that voted to unionize in May of 2022

Greg Zajac, works at the Starbucks store at 18th and Castro, San Francisco