Starbucks Employees in Olney to Vote on Unionization

On April 6, Starbucks Workers United, on behalf of employees at the Starbucks location at 16806 Georgia Ave in Olney, sent a letter to Starbucks President Howard Schultz announcing their intention to unionize.  In the letter, workers at the Olney Starbucks say they have attempted on numerous occasions to communicate with management regarding their grievances but believe their concerns fell on deaf ears.

“Much like our neighboring stores, we have grown increasingly exhausted and stressed, not to mention faced with constant, inconsistently enforced changes. While as a team, we’ve been grateful for the opportunities given and the benefits provided with our employment. But these provisions, which should be bare minimum at any job, come at the cost of our physical and mental wellbeing, and money from our own paychecks. With labor cuts, COVID-19 restrictions and isolations, improper staffing, production shortage and outages, and facing the backlash from our customers- we are tired. Meanwhile Starbucks’ profits have been skyrocketing more than the pre-pandemic era.”

According to a report today by Bethesda Beat, a National Labor Relations Board filing shows that a workers will take a vote on May 20 whether or not to join the union.  In April, fourteen baristas that work at the Starbucks at 1209 North Charles Street in Baltimore voted at to join a union, making that location the first to unionize in Maryland. On Monday, workers at the Starbucks location at 1700 W Nursery Rd. in Linthicum Heights, voted 15-2 in favor of unionization.

The PARTNERS UNITED will never be defeated! Welcome the workers from Olney, MD to the movement! 🙂 pic.twitter.com/zl25K0vAa0

— Starbucks Workers United (@SBWorkersUnited) April 6, 2022

Feature photo from Google maps.