Norman Starbucks Joins Wave Of Stores Attempting To Unionize

At Starbucks stores across the country, there has been growing unionization efforts. Now, a second Oklahoma store is joining the wave. 

The store in Nichols Hills and Highway 9 in Norman said their demands echo those of other stores seeking to unionize. They say if Starbucks is going to call their employees partners, it is time they are treated as such. 

"There was less of a tipping point and more of just a continuation of Starbucks' mission," said Norman partner, Charlotte McCall. 

Charlotte McCall is one of six partners at that location who signed their name on the intent to unionize letter that was published earlier this week. It's the second store in Oklahoma and just one of the nearly 130 involved in the nationwide movement to demand better pay, benefits, and treatment. 

"The bad experience that we were having was the standard and it is exactly the same issues and exactly the same stories coming out from all over the country," explained Buffalo, New York partner, William Westlake. 

Westlake works for a Starbucks in Buffalo, New York, where the movement began in August. Partners from both metro locations that have joined the movement emailed him separately for help to unionize. The first Oklahoma store to announce their effort is in Nichols Hills. 

The Norman store's letter spells out their grievances; the corporation hit record profits, but their partners, actually serving the drinks won't see a pay raise till June; and tips don't help cover the gap. 

"At this specific location in my experience they end up being somewhere between $.50 an hour to sometimes close to $2.00 an hour," said McCall. Westlake added, "if you're only making about like $250-$300 a week in your paycheck all of a sudden it gets really hard to do things like be able to save money pay off student loans or really build a future for yourself in the company." 

Partners who work twenty or more hours a week can use health benefits, but costs are high. Pandemic benefits, like hazard pay and special food and drink policies are gone. McCall wants people coming through her drive thru to know. 

"The Starbucks union is Starbucks. It's not against Starbucks, it's made up of the partners who are a part of the company and it's about making Starbucks better.” 

Since this store has just announced the unionizing effort, they are still in the gathering support phase, trying to get enough for a union vote. They need 70% store support for the vote.