Workers at New York’s Starbucks Reserve Roastery in the Meatpacking District have been on strike since early last week over unsafe working conditions and the billionaire company’s refusal to negotiate in good faith with the union for an initial contract. The striking workers find that managers at one of Starbucks’ flagship stores are refusing to address working conditions that are proving to be unhealthy: the store recently had an outbreak of bed bugs in the break room and there has been black mold in the ice machines for months.
Two workers who spoke anonymously to Left Voice described how management instructed them to discard any ice cream that had mold in it and move on without addressing the root of the problem. When the bug infestation occurred, workers were asked to remove their belongings from the break room, but were not told why. They only found out about the bed bug infestation days later; the fumigation and cleaning for which the workers believe were inferior.
One worker, Laura Garza, says: “I myself got sick trying to remove the mold from the ice machine without proper training, and the bed bugs were just the last straw. We can’t risk bringing that home.”
Workers United, the workers’ union representative, filed an OSHA complaint against the facility, as well as a national indictment of unfair labor practices with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for “failing to negotiate,” listing the roastery and 151 other locations where Starbucks refused has to start negotiations.
Workers at this Starbucks Reserve Roastery—many of whom are young, queer women—were the first NYC Starbucks to unionize, winning their union election on April 1 of this year. They are one of 12 Starbucks locations that have unionized in upstate New York and one of seven in the city. Nationwide, more than 250 Starbucks stores have chosen to unionize. With over 100 employees at this site, this is one of the larger plants to be unionized nationwide.
Though it’s been months since they won their election, workers at the roastery, like other unionized stores across the country, still don’t have their first contract as Starbucks refuses to negotiate in good faith with workers while it continues its anti-union practices. The company faces over 300 allegations of unfair labor practices, and NLRB offices across the country have filed over 35 formal complaints with Starbucks alleging that the company coerced, threatened and fired employees for union activity and withholding pay increases and benefits unionized shops. Since the union wave began at the coffee giant, Starbucks has fired more than 100 union workers.
Although the shop has over 100 employees, not all are on the picket line, many fearing retaliation from management. At the roastery and every other business that has unionized or is seeking a path to unionization, management has worked overtime to maintain an atmosphere of fear, and workers have often even been aware of their rights and that they have a union , withheld. But since the strike began at the roastery, workers have picketed outside the facility every day, forcing it to close early on the last few evenings. Picket workers also talked about how management brought scabs from the yet-to-open Empire State Building site to work at the store.
Workers at Starbucks create hundreds of dollars worth of beverages every hour, creating value far beyond what they are paid for. The company’s massive profits are a direct product of the labor of the workers. It is important for striking workers to expand, mobilize and use this shop floor power to fight not only for safe conditions but against any injustice suffered under the leadership of Starbucks and beyond.
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Sou Mi is a New York City-based activist.
