Starbucks union workers in Pittsburgh aren’t backing down. This December marked the one-year anniversary of their national fight for better wages, guaranteed shifts, improved health and safety practices, and fair disciplinary processes.
Across the country, workers have been organizing, with Starbucks Workers United representing more than 250 locations, and Pittsburgh has a heavy concentration. Currently, workers at six local shops are on strike because they say the company is refusing to bargain.
Starbucks Workers United says the company’s lawyers have repeatedly walked away from bargaining sessions or requested to reschedule meetings at the last minute.
Many workers have also reported threats or retaliation from management in response to their unionizing efforts. The National Labor Relations Board filed a 19-page complaint against Starbucks in September for managers allegedly making threats to Pittsburgh workers attempting to organize.
Despite the uphill battle they face, Starbucks union workers in Pittsburgh are determined to keep striking until they win new contracts.
“I think a lot of people, especially the people in my generation, are sort of wising up to the fact that corporations don't actually have our backs,” Shea Gannon, a Starbucks organizer, told City Paper this summer. “And that the only way that we are going to be able to get what we deserve from the work we do is by joining together and having that solidarity, and saying ‘Hey, this business doesn't run without us.’”
Starbucks Union Workers. twitter.com/pghsbuxunited
