By Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch
While the government shutdown is not set to impact the strike being considered by Starbucks unionized workers, organizers said the recent government action has affected the ability of some Starbucks employees across the country to form their own unions.
A group of Starbucks baristas and supporters rallied outside the Des Moines Starbucks location near the Merle Hay Mall Tuesday, holding signs saying, “No contract? No coffee!” and “Just practicing for a just contract” as they led chants and cheered with passing cars.
The protest was one of many in Iowa and across the country organized by Starbucks Workers United between Oct. 24 and Nov. 2 as the union is voting on a strike authorization on unfair labor practices heading into the holiday season.
Speaking at the event, Jacob Scroggins, a Starbucks employee, said among the demands made by union workers were “livable wages, employer-paid health benefits and consistent schedules.” Scroggins said the demands being made ahead of the strike are all issues that pushed the Des Moines store employees to vote in support of unionization in August.
“Today was about showing corporate that we are serious, and we want to come to the bargaining table,” Scroggins said. “They’ve stalled for eight months. We’ve been waiting. And when we joined this movement, we expected to fight, and we’re fighting today.”
A Starbucks spokesperson said in a statement that Starbucks Workers United only represent “around 4% of our partners but chose to walk away from the bargaining table.”
“If they’re ready to come back, we’re ready to talk,” the spokesperson said. “Any agreement needs to reflect the reality that Starbucks already offers the best job in retail, including more than $30 an hour on average in pay and benefits for hourly partners. We’re investing over $500 million to put more partners in stores during busy times. The facts show people like working at Starbucks. Partner engagement is up, turnover is nearly half the industry average, and we get more than 1 million job applications a year.”
The location near Merle Hay Mall is the only Starbucks in Des Moines to be unionized, though there are other unionized Iowa stores in Iowa City, Bettendorf and Davenport. While there are no other union Des Moines Starbucks locations, Scroggins said some employees at other local stores have shown an interest in participating in a strike.
“I have met a barista who works here primarily for health care for their children, and struggles to get (enough) hours to receive that health care benefit from the company,” Scroggins said. “So it is something that is affecting many baristas.”
Some of the affected employees are at stores that may be in the process of forming a union, but have had their efforts halted by the federal government shutdown. Sharie Denton, a union organizer, said across the Midwest, there are many locations that have been ready to file for a union election who have not been able to submit their request because of the shutdown, as well as shops with elections scheduled that were postponed.
Funding for the National Labor Relations Board, which oversees union elections, was halted as part of the federal government shutdown. The NLRB has stated elections, ballot counts, and representation case hearings scheduled for Oct. 1 onward were postponed indefinitely, with timelines contingent based on how long the shutdown lasts.
One of the postponed elections was for creating a nurses union at the four UnityPoint hospitals in the Des Moines metropolitan area. The “United Nurses of Iowa” effort, organized through the Teamsters Local 90, was supposed to have employees begin voting on whether to unionize Oct. 5. But UnityPoint and union organizers received notice Oct. 1 from the NLRB that the election was delayed indefinitely.
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