Workers at the Miami Springs Starbucks have submitted paperwork to establish a union.  Here’s the letter that was submitted by some of the Miami Springs Starbucks employees to the Starbucks CEO, Kevin Johnson:

Starbucks Workers United Logo

Dear Kevin,

We, the partners of Store #11715 in Miami Springs, have been inspired by our partners in Buffalo, Mesa, Seattle, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Hialeah, and many other cities around the country to stand in solidarity with them in filing for a union election.  Like them, we seek to have true partnership in our workplace that exists in power, not just in name.  We believe that this can only be achieved by having a seat at the table where we can voice and resolve our issues not as individuals, but as a strong, unified group of workers acting upon our shared interests.

Our store is at the heart of our community in Miami Springs and is often the hub for neighborhood events and gatherings.  We know our neighborhood and most of our partners are from the Miami Springs area themselves.  As baristas, our labor is the primary way by which we contribute to and interact with this community that we know so well.  Our labor is also what keeps this company running.  Whether its is by giving parents their morning coffee, serving kids coming by after school, or providing a place for old friends to meet up over the holidays, we want to continue creating a feeling of warmth and comfort for our neighborhood.  We aim to provide a curated and welcoming experience and follow through on our promise of creating a “third place”.  We deserve to call this store our third place as well.  They are not just our customers, but our friends, family, and neighbors.  We once felt that we could provide them with the conversation, connection, and joy that they deserve but they have instead been met with stressed partners carrying an unreasonable workload.

Despite the stated efforts from Starbucks to provide a better and more welcoming work environment, we remain unheard and disappointed.  We are understaffed.  We are overworked.  We are underpaid.  We do not make a living wage.  We are working with broken equipment unable to function with the high demand and business we receive.  We are called partners by Starbucks, but our experience is farm from a partnership.  Concerns are brought to the attention of our employers by partners worried for our. community, but we are dismissed and disregarded.  A seat the table will ensure that we are properly represented by our own workers, when decisions have typically been made on our behalf by people who will never take a step behind the bar.

As we form a union, we look forward to a true partnership; one met with equity and mutual respect, with community at its center.

In Solidarity,

Starbucks Workers United Organizing Committee
Miami Springs, Fl Starbucks, Store #11715

Christian Miranda
Sean Pardillo
David Ortiz
Raul Paoli-Toledo
Karina Rojas
And all other partners who wish to remain anonymous

Miami Springs Starbucks

Young Democratic Socialist Support

The YDSA (Young Democratic Socialists of America) FIU Chapter posted the following message in support of the unionization efforts at the Miami Springs Starbucks:

YDSA @ FIU Statement of Solidarity with Starbucks Workers in Miami Springs

The Florida International University chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America stands in solidarity with the workers of Starbucks Store 11715 (Curtiss Parkway) as they launch a unionization campaign.  They are joining the Starbucks workers in Hialeah in their fight for better pay, benefits, and working conditions.

While Starbucks’ claims to be a “progressive” corporation and a “community of partners,” their response to workers asserting their right to a union has shown how shallow those claims truly are.  They have fired union organizers in Memphis and Buffalo, held “captive audience” meetings to threaten workers, torn down messages to threaten workers, torn down messages of support from the community board, and cut hours.  The workers in Hialeah have already felt the effects of some of these attacks.

As democratic socialists, we know that there is no “partnership” to be had between the workers and the boss.  It is the workers who make the coffee, cook the food, clean the store, take out the trash, and form connections with the customers.  Starbucks workers make the company as profitable as it is, yet get none of the return in their paychecks or job security.  Workers keep the world running, and we think it’s about time that workers run the world.

Our chapter has made the Starbucks Workers Solidarity Campaign for Hialeah our priority for the semester, and we intent to extend our solidarity to the workers in Miami Springs as well.  We won’t relent until the union is won.  The fight continues.

SOLIDARITY FOREVER!

Miami Springs Starbucks Baristas Unionizing

LOCAL MEDIA COVERAGE

 

What do you think? Are the Baristas being unfairly treated by Starbucks or are they crying over spilled milk? Let us know what you think in the comments or via social media.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Ya’ll trippin’ – If you’re overworked, get another job. If you’re underpaid, get a job that pays more. If you can’t get another job, stop crying’. Go get some additional skill that will pay you more. You work at a Starbucks. Unless you’re going to open your own coffee shop, or you’re going to get into management, you’re never going to make a living wage. If you expect to make a living wage at Starbucks, you’ve been lied to. Open your eyes. If your goal is a living wage, look around you at those that make a living wage and or make a fantastic wage. What do those people do? You might want to consider a different career path.

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