Monday, May 24, 2004
On the Job: N.Y. baristas get organized
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES
Some New York baristas want more for their lattes and mochas. They're threatening to form the first union at a U.S. Starbucks store.
In midtown Manhattan, baristas sent union cards to the National Labor Relations Board last week, seeking a vote that could occur next month on union representation for roughly 12 employees, according to Daniel Gross, a Starbucks worker and one of the organizers.
Gross said store workers want a union because Starbucks doesn't offer them a wage they can live on in notoriously expensive New York City. The Seattle-based coffee giant also has refused to adequately staff the store, creating safety concerns as baristas hustle to serve throngs of thirsty New Yorkers, while handling scalding steamed milk, according to Gross.
At the store, Starbucks workers start at $7.75 an hour, and are eligible for a raise after six months.
The company is "not including the baristas in the tremendous almost unparalleled success," Gross, 25, said on Friday. "It's not this idyllic coffeehouse. It is a very demanding job."
Starbucks, however, pointed to a company survey that reported that 86 percent of its employees were satisfied with their work. A spokeswoman also stressed that the company maintains very safe workplaces.
"We respect the right of our partners (employees) to make individual decisions," said Starbucks spokeswoman Audrey Lincoff. "We believe we offer a really wonderful work environment. "
If the baristas are successful in joining the Industrial Workers of the World IU/660 it would be something of a landmark because none of Starbucks' more than 4,000 U.S. stores are unionized, although nine stores in Canada employ union workers.
P-I reporter Paul Nyhan, who covers labor and the economy, compiles "On the Job." He can be reached at 206-448-8145 or paulnyhan@seattlepi.com. This report includes information from the Associated Press and other P-I news services.