OKLAHOMA CITY – Starbucks Workers United have gained new territory in Oklahoma, expanding past the borders of Oklahoma City into Norman (Highway 9) and Ponca City recently. Tuesday evening marked another union election in Ponca City with the union winning representation 10 – 4.
“Baristas at 14th & Prospect voted 10-4 Tuesday to join Starbucks Workers United,” reads a press release from the , “inspired by their fellow baristas who have spoken out against management, gone on strike, and fought for a better workplace for all Starbucks baristas.”
Ponca City store votes to unionize
Free Press spoke to baristas from both the Norman store and Ponca City about the union’s expansion outside of city limits.
“We are currently on our fourth store manager/coffee house leader since the store opened in 2021,” Melissa Palma, shift supervisor at the Ponca City store, said. “Two managers ago is when things started getting unreasonable, and I had a partner reach out to me about a union.”
At first, there was little support for the union, but this year more workers were open to union representation.
“So I reached out to a former partner that worked at our store who now works at a unionized store near OKC and asked to connect me with them,” Palma said. “That is when it started.”
According to Palma the primary reasons they pushed for union representation include:
- Harassment
- Scheduling
- Pay not being recorded correctly
- Reported issues not being submitted by management
Workers at Starbucks Ponca City claim that they had been reporting serious violations to both standards and law, but that they didn’t receive the help or support they sought.
South Norman store joined union in May
The Starbucks location at Classen Blvd. and Highway 9 in south Norman started unionizing late last year, but their efforts heated up earlier this year, spurred by top-down corporate changes such as strict new dress code regulations.
But that’s not the only thing frustrating the workers.
“It has become clearer every year that there is a disparity between those at the top and us baristas,” said Greg Tiller, shift supervisor at Norman Starbucks store. “Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol makes roughly 6,666 times more than the average worker at Starbucks, and it’s becoming more frustrating that we baristas do the work and keep this company afloat, but aren’t treated as partners in the way that they call us such.”
After the Norman store went public with their unionization efforts, workers said they saw an increased presence from Starbucks corporate representatives.
“Our District Manager and Regional Manager, as well as other Starbucks higher-ups, began to be in our store much more frequently,” Tiller explained. “We also had people from Starbucks’ Labor Relations office talking to each partner individually. So it became a little intimidating to have so many people from corporate in our store constantly.”
The location’s workers went on to win their union election with a decisive 66% voting in favor of union membership.
Both the Ponca City and Norman locations were given the full support of their fellow unionized coworkers in the metro.
“From Norman to OKC to Ponca City, Starbucks workers are connected through our class struggle,” Collin Pollitt, barista at NW 23rd St. and N Robinson Ave. in OKC, told Free Press. “We know our solidarity will win a better Starbucks, for us, and the workers to come.”
Labor calling for nationwide boycott of Starbucks
Another movement in the Starbucks labor movement is a national boycott of Starbucks, dubbed “No Contract, No Coffee.”
“Starbucks Workers United baristas have inspired people all over the world in their fight for a better future at one of the biggest global brands,” the boycott’s official website reads. “Five years and 700 union wins later, Starbucks is still refusing to finalize a fair, first union contract with reasonable pay, hours, staffing, and protections.”
According to data from unionelections.org, there are currently more than 700 unionized Starbucks locations across the country, representing more than 15,500 employees, but the corporation has still yet to finalize an official organized labor contract with any of them.
OKC’s unionized stores have joined the calls for boycott, with workers supporting the push for a recognized contract to protect liveable wages and labor protections.
“Starbucks has failed to finalize a contract for any of its union stores and the only way they will listen to our requests is if they are hit financially,” Tiller said, “so Workers United is calling for a boycott until Starbucks is able to allow us to reach a contract beneficial for us.”
Alex Gatley covers labor activities in the state of Oklahoma.
