The Young Democratic Socialists of America and the group University of Oregon Student Workers held a rally Wednesday in support of the Erb Memorial Union Starbucks’ unionization in the EMU amphitheater.
Speakers included EMU Starbucks workers, YDSA, UO Student Workers, Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation, the University of Oregon faculty union United Academics and the Service Employee International Union, which represent classified staff at UO.
Employees of the EMU Starbucks sent signed union cards to the National Labor Relations Board on Jan. 4. Workers at the Starbucks said they wanted better working conditions, higher pay and more communication and leverage with corporate.
Every Starbucks in Eugene has filed to unionize, according to More Perfect Union.
Alexia Muller, a senior at UO who has worked at the EMU Starbucks for three years, said she used to love coming to work, but the coffee shop has continued to fall apart since she joined.
“Now, the work is just too much that I fall asleep in class,” Muller said.
Starbucks made record sales during the pandemic but continues to underpay workers, Muller said. At one point she was hit in the head with a Starbucks oven, giving her a concussion. Starbucks did not check up on her and paid her $96 for 22 hours of missed work due to the injury when she should have received over $200, she said.
Baristas at the EMU Starbucks frequently work 5.75-hour shifts, which keeps them from receiving the lunch break that comes with a six hour shift, Muller said.
The EMU Starbucks has also removed Muller from future schedules for having limited availability. “They fire people for having limited availability because they got second jobs to survive,” she said.
Members of YDSA shared stories from student workers it collected through a survey. The stories included complaints about working conditions, pay and lax COVID-19 policies.
“We believe in the basic rights of workers,” YDSA Chair David Lefèvre said. “We believe that workers should be empowered. They should all have the dignity they deserve. We see unionization as a way in which workers can have a voice and power in their workplace.”
Speakers from labor unions on campus linked the EMU Starbucks’ unionization efforts to the need for others to unionize, like UO Student Workers. They encouraged people to organize their own unions at their workplace and promised their support.
“Our value will never be honestly compensated,” UA President Avinnash Tiwari said. “Our worth will always be replaceable in their eyes and their spreadsheets …We, the faculty union of UO — we’ve got your back.”
Michael Marchman, a staff organizer for GTFF, said the struggle for Starbucks unions is historic and reflects a larger challenge of upholding democracy. “I am proud to stand with our cousins fighting for a Starbucks union,” he said.
SEIU steward Louie Vidmar said he salutes all organized labor efforts. “But we all know that the labor movement would not be what it is without caffeine,” he said.
