Nov. 16 was “Red Cup Day,” Starbucks’ annual promotion where customers ordering a “holiday” themed drink receive a festive, red, reusable cup. According to members of the union Starbucks Workers United (SWU), it is one of their busiest days of the year.
Yet, a number of longtime employees at the Berkshire Center Starbucks in Danbury were marching in front of the store instead of manning stations behind the counter. They were joined by representatives of other unions and labor organizations and a local legislator as they attempted to persuade customers to find their morning coffee elsewhere and call the area’s District Manager to lodge a formal complaint about the understaffing.
The Danbury staff were among the more than 200 unionized stores across the country who turned out to picket Starbucks locations in what SWU has termed the “Red Cup Rebellion.”
“Throughout the fall Starbucks has been pushing these promotional days where you see a higher volume in customers without any additional staffing or support from management or the company,” said Theresa Buchta, who is both a barista at the Danbury location and a union organizer for SWU. “So, we’re demanding that Starbucks bargain with us for those conditions on those promotional days.”
According to Buchta, the strike was being called primarily to protest unfair labor practices, particularly short staffing.
“It has an effect on staff,” Buchta said between chants as she marched on the picket line. “Usually you see baristas, especially young teenagers working the jobs of three or four people. It leads to longer lines, longer wait times, and a decreasing quality of the beverages because we don’t have the time to actually take the care to create the handcrafted beverages that Starbucks is famous for. You see a lot of frustration from customers which they then turn on us, the baristas. So, that’s kind of the point of getting them to reach out to our managers, to direct that anger in the right direction.”
Starbucks declined to make the district manager available for an interview, but said in an emailed statement that they “understand that these promotional days may change store patterns and traffic, and that’s why our retail leaders have the flexibility to build and adjust staffing schedules to reflect the unique and dynamic needs of each store — balancing store resources and expected customer demand to ensure partners (employees) are on the floor when they’re needed most. Notably, our store schedules are created three weeks in advance with our partners’ availability and preferences at the forefront and our stores are often provided additional labor hours to augment staffing in support of planned promotional days. “
Starbucks uses a licensed management system instead of a franchise model for most locations. This means that most stores are owned directly by the company instead of independent franchisees. The company argues that unlike the sole store in Pennsylvania organized through the Teamsters Union or the United Steelworkers affiliated locations in Canada, SWU has not responded to the bulk of its 500 proposals for bargaining sessions, while the SWU maintains that many of these proposals were not in good faith and failed to address basic ground rules.
The Danbury location was the third Starbucks in Connecticut to unionize. Today, the National Labor Relations Board has certified union votes from more than 400 stores, with roughly 360 electing to unionize and 70 opting out.
Starbucks also recently announced a series of pay increases based on staff seniority, although stores that voted to unionize will be barred from the highest wage bumps. This comes while Starbucks is appealing a court ruling that found the practice in violation of federal labor laws.
Julie Kushner, the State Senator for District 24 which covers Danbury, New Fairfield and Ridgefield, joined the picket line.
“I’m just so impressed with the efforts of these young workers to make a difference in our country in terms of organizing,” said Kushner, who before running for state office retired in 2018 from a position as the director of United Auto Workers Region 9A, which covers New England, parts of New York, and Puerto Rico. “We know that when workers are organized they not only achieve better conditions for themselves, but it pushes up the floor for all workers. Particularly in the service industry where we have seen these franchises and companies like Starbucks expand all over the country and employ hundreds of thousands of workers around the country. Until we give those workers a pathway to middle class existence, we are really undermining the economy of our country. For me this is a win-win – workers win on the job, but we also win when they improve the economies of our communities.”
Members of Starbucks Workers United joined by supporters pose before beginning their picket of the Berkshire Shopping Center Starbucks in Danbury.
