Starbucks Union Battle Brews

APRIL 2022

Ithaca First City to Unionize All Starbucks Locations

Following efforts extendin back to October 2021, all three Ithaca Starbucks locations voted to unionize on April 8, 2022. The outcomes of the votes for the College Avenue location, the Ithaca Commons location and the Meadow Street location were 19-1, 15-1 and 13-1, respectively.

“A lot of my coworkers are very happy, but we know this is only the first step in the next chapter of our journey,” said Evan Sunshine ’24, a barista and member of the union campaign’s organizing committee. “We’ll have to do bargaining with Starbucks for our first contract and only then we’ll be able to reap the benefits of the union.”

Starbucks to Close All Ithaca Locations by May 26, 2023

A year after the Starbucks workers in Ithaca successfully voted to unionize, Starbucks has announced that it will permanently close the two remaining Ithaca locations — on E. Seneca Street and S. Meadow Street — by May 26, 2023, although it denied that the closures were in retaliation for the unionization effort.

Starbucks employee Evan Sunshine ’24 stated that Starbucks’ justification to the workers for closing the stores was due to financial and operational needs, although he expressed skepticism about the reasoning. Starbucks Corporate did not respond to The Sun’s request for comment.

MAY 2023

MAY 2023

Students Occupy Day Hall Over Cornell’s Starbucks Partnership

Student organizers and Starbucks employees occupied Day Hall on May 11, 2023, to urge Cornell to end its partnership with Starbucks.

On both North and Central Campuses, most Cornell dining halls and cafes serve Starbucks brand beverages. Rally organizers primarily demanded that the University publicize its contract with Starbucks and sever its relationship with the corporation, switching providers for all on-campus dining establishments that serve Starbucks products.

Organizers require a campus-wide switch to an “ethical” brand that is approved by the student activists occupying Day Hall and Starbucks Workers United before the fall semester.

Starbucks Corporate announced the closure of the recently unionized College Avenue location set for June 10, 2022, in a move that workers are calling “union-busting.”

Workers at the store went on strike April 16, 2022, alleging unsafe working conditions due to a hazardous grease trap that had become a longstanding problem.

Starbucks workers voiced that the store closure came as a shock, given the store was a staple to not only Cornell but also Ithaca community members.

“We weren’t surprised that Starbucks would pull something like this because they have been using several underhanded tactics to take advantage of the union and fearmonger to discourage unionization,” said Starbucks employee Evan Sunshine ’24.

JUNE 2022

Downtown Starbucks Workers Strike on Red Cup Day Red Cup Day is one of the busiest days of the year for Starbucks: it is the one day of the year when customers can receive a free, limited-edition reusable cup with the purchase of any holiday or fall beverage. However, Ithacans trying to get their red cup at the Ithaca Commons location this year were met with something else — a Starbucks worker’s strike.

Joining over a hundred stores across the country, the Ithaca Commons Starbucks workers held a day-long strike on Thursday, calling on Starbucks Corporate to come to the bargaining table as national union efforts continue to grow.

Starbucks Found Guilty of Violating Labor Laws in Collegetown Closure

Starbucks was found guilty of violating U.S. labor laws in its treatment of employees across unionized Ithaca locations and in the permanent closure of Collegetown Starbucks in a National Labor Relations Board ruling on July 6, 2023.

Judge Arthur J. Amchan’s ruling comes after more than a year of local disputes over workers’ conditions.

Amchan wrote in his decision that Starbucks violated the National Labor Relations Act several times by dismissing and punishing employees and by more harshly enforcing company policies after the company knew of unionization efforts in Ithaca stores.

JULY 2023