The Starbucks on Indiana Avenue in Bloomington is no longer facing a local strike. The strike ended on Christmas Day, but the national strike is still ongoing. Over 1,000 baristas in 10 cities remain on strike.
The Starbucks Workers United Union is hoping to negotiate a contract with better working conditions and job security. The union has been trying to negotiate a contract since last year, but Starbucks hasn’t made an offer addressing baristas’ concerns.
At the end of November, the baristas from the Indiana Avenue Starbucks joined an indefinite nationwide strike, which began Nov. 13. The Indiana Avenue location closed for nearly three days before reopening Dec. 1 to make up for underperforming during the holiday season when students leave town. During the strike, managers from other Starbucks locations and a handful of baristas ran the store on limited hours.
“We were on strike for about three weeks, at which point we decided that it was time for a shift change,” said barista and union member Sophie Lee, “and we were letting other stores across the nation and across our state take on the fight, just kind of passing the baton.”
While on strike, Lee and other baristas weren’t paid their normal wage, but they still received some financial support from the union and community members. Lee said she was ready to go back to work.
“A lot of people are acting like nothing really happened,” she said, “but there's also a lot of people that are still showing our support, coming in and talking about how happy they are that we've been fighting for union rights and that they've been choosing not to cross picket lines while the strike is ongoing.”
Even though her individual store isn’t on strike anymore, Lee said she will still support the union and talk with other stores about unionizing. According to an email from the Starbucks Workers United Union, on Dec. 23, 19 new stores filed for an election to join the union, and over 250 baristas have won their union elections at 13 stores since the strike began.
“It's very encouraging to see that momentum being carried forward,” Lee said. “I feel really emboldened from this past experience of being on strike. This was my first time being on any sort of strike or being on a picket line. So, it was a really cool, historic moment to be cutting my teeth on.”
Lee said the Indiana Avenue location could go back on strike if an unfair labor practice is committed in that specific store or in a store nationally. Examples of unfair labor practices include retaliation and intimidation. Since the unfair labor practice strike is legally protected, companies cannot retaliate against baristas who do not come in to work. There was no retaliation at the Indiana Avenue Starbucks while on strike.
During the ongoing national strike, Lee is asking customers to understand and support the union’s goals.
“We want Starbucks to run well,” she said. “And as a barista who's been with this company since before COVID, I can say that it can do a good job, and I do believe in the company. But the thing is, is that they need to listen to us, the people who are making the drinks and working there.”
