(Buffalo) Employees at two Starbucks coffee shops in the northern United States scored a historic victory Thursday when they voted to create a union at their establishments, a first for the chain in the United States.
Cries of joy and hugs erupted just after the proclamation of the first results in the room where the campaign leaders had gathered.
“This is the culmination of a long road,” responded Michelle Eisen, employed for more than eleven years in the cafe in question, avenue Elmwood. The battle has been so hard, she says, “with everything Starbucks has thrown in our faces.”
Two stars of the left wing of the American Democratic Party quickly congratulated the employees on Twitter, Bernie Sanders hailing a “historic” victory while Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accompanied her message with a raised fist.
The mood darkened for a while, as the votes of the employees of another café in the Buffalo area showed that they had voted in majority against the creation of a union. .
But the smiles returned after the tally in favor of the “yes” in a third cafe, near the airport. As appeals have been filed by the union and the company on this ballot specifically, the final results have yet to be confirmed, but the union is confident.
“It’s such a huge victory, a dream come true,” said Lexi Rizzo, employee in this establishment.
Now, say new union members, Starbucks must come to the bargaining table.
The company continues to believe that the working conditions it offers do not justify the creation of an intermediary between employees and management. But “it respects the right of (its) partners to form a union,” said a representative of the company.
Starbucks is now awaiting certification of the results next week before announcing the next step, she added.
Ambient growl
Campaign organizers filed for unionization under the “Starbucks Workers United” (SWU) banner at the end of August and the ballots were sent to all employees on November 10.
The latter had until Wednesday to refer them to the American agency in charge of labor law (NLRB), which carried out the count online on Thursday.
Earlier today, no sign of the historic vote was visible at the facility on Elmwood Avenue. The ten or so waiters simply rushed to prepare customers’ orders.
“They are part of my daily life and it is normal that they have a decent salary,” remarked Steve Boyd, a 60-year-old lawyer, upon leaving the establishment. If we have to create a union to have better working conditions, “then I support them. ”
Like the unionization attempt at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama in the spring, the Starbucks worker campaign has gained attention far beyond the streets of Buffalo, New York.
It reflects the discontent of employees determined to fight, at a time when the dynamics of the labor market are favorable to them, notes Cedric de Leon, professor of sociology at Massachusetts Amherst University.
While many employers are struggling to recruit, “the bargaining power of employees is very high at the moment,” he explains, referring to the many strikes that have punctuated the month of October or the millions of Americans who have chosen these. last months to resign.
Intense cadences
When he joined Starbucks in May, Will Westlake, 24, congratulated himself on working for a group that regularly brandishes its progressive values and generally offers better working conditions than other cafes.
“But when I started, I realized that this was not necessarily the case,” he told AFP. He was particularly shocked to find that people who had worked for several years were earning little more than him, but also complained of intense work speeds.
The pro-unions were all the more motivated as Starbucks showed resistance.
A few weeks after the launch of the union mobilization, the group announced several measures such as raising its minimum wage or better consideration of seniority.
But he also, according to the organizers of the campaign, deployed the great means to try to convince the employees to vote no, in particular sending a battalion of executives in the region.
If the group is so worried about the arrival of a union, even in a single café, “it’s good because it could start a wave within the company,” notes Cedric de Leon.