Local Eugene Starbucks workers held a protest outside of Matthew Knight Arena Saturday afternoon after the company’s alleged policy change on Pride decorations.
Nick Vuong, a worker at the 7th and Washington street location, said that the protest is about the company making workers take down all Pride decorations and not letting workers wear Pride pins.
Morgan Eipp was standing beside Vuong during the protest. While the protesters numbered less than 20, occasional passing cars honked in support.
“My store has definitely received backlash for being in a union. We’ve had a lot of extra write-ups recently about dress code. I’ve been told to take off my Pride pin,” Eipp said.
Nationwide, more than 3,500 members of Starbucks Workers United, the national workers’ union for Starbucks employees, plan to protest the company’s decision at roughly 150 locations throughout the weekend.
“This is the first year they didn’t let us put up any decorations,” said Marisa Hodson, a store supervisor at a Eugene location.
Hodson said that during her first year working for Starbucks, managers would hand out Pride pins during Pride month and ensure a comfortable environment to work in. Now, she said, the limits of celebrating the LGBTQ+ community end at selling Pride cups to customers.
“They’re trying to celebrate [the community], but not actually the people who they’re celebrating,” she said.
Eipp said she and the other protestors hope to get Starbucks’ attention enough to where they can bargain for better working conditions.
Protesters wave signs as a car passes by. Starbucks employees stood in protest against homophobia and union-busting within Starbucks’ leadership outside the Franklin and Villard Starbucks store. (Molly McPherson/Emerald)
