Store by store, the union drive at Starbucks is gaining ground

Store by store, the union drive at Starbucks is gaining ground

Transcript¹

Workers at a northern Virginia Starbucks explain why they're seeking a union, and what they hope membership will bring.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

What it started with one Starbucks in Buffalo², N.Y., is now spreading across the country. So far, 13 Starbucks have unionized, with another four counting votes today. In all, more than 200 stores have sought union elections recently. NPR's Andrea Hsu has been talking with Starbucks workers and asking them, why now?

ANDREA HSU, BYLINE³: I sat down with a few workers outside their Starbucks in Springfield, Va. First thing to know about them - they love Starbucks. They love the culture. They love their regular customers. But more recently, that love has been tested. It started in the pandemic.

GAILYN BERG: The beginning of the pandemic, truly.

HSU: That's when Gailyn Berg began to feel undervalued. Berg is a shift supervisor⁴ here. Their store was closed for six weeks early on, with pay. During that time, the staff got together on Zoom⁵ to brainstorm⁶ ideas for how to keep safe. They decided⁷ to place a table and a tent at the door. Customers could order on the app and pick up their drinks outside. But they were overruled.

BERG: Our district manager said that that was not appropriate, and they had to come into the store.

HSU: For food safety reasons, even though, Berg points out, lots of businesses were leaving food outside.

BERG: That was definitely a rough first couple of weeks, when we were still getting used to what Starbucks corporate⁸ wanted us to look like and deciding if it was actually safe enough.

HSU: Now, Starbucks corporate did do a number of things for employees at that time. For 30 days, they paid workers regardless of whether they went to work or not, for whatever reason. They gave two weeks of paid time off to workers exposed to or diagnosed with COVID. They expanded child care benefits and introduced hazard pay...

BERG: Three dollars extra an hour.

HSU: ...For a couple of months. But increasingly, the employees felt voiceless over the challenges they faced at work. Claire Picciano, a barista, remembers telling her manager...

CLAIRE PICCIANO: I'm just so stressed out. Like, we need more help.

HSU: And it was like that for months. Then last fall, one of their pandemic benefits got phased out - a daily free food and drink item from any location, whether you were working that day or not. Megan Gaydos, another barista, says they were told the company couldn't afford the benefit anymore.

MEGAN GAYDOS: And then it came out that we had, like, record-breaking sales and that the CEO at the time, Kevin Johnson, was going to receive a 40% raise.

HSU: Now, Starbucks points out that it's raised wages for the rank and file, too, twice in the pandemic. But Gailyn Berg is not impressed.

BERG: Starbucks is boasting about raising everyone to $15 an hour, but that was 10 years ago that we needed that.

HSU: Well, in January, the closing shift in Springfield got to talking about the union drive in Buffalo. Tim Swicord is on that shift. He's a high school senior who joined Starbucks in the pandemic.

TIM SWICORD: We kind of very casually⁹ were joking about it initially¹⁰, but then eventually, we just started to think, hey, this is something that we should really do as a store.

HSU: He became one of the organizers. He also became a target of Starbucks' counter campaign. He was brought into a meeting with his store manager and the district manager.

SWICORD: Where they were saying to me things like, you know, you've expressed interest in becoming a shift supervisor. If we unionize, there's a potential that somebody that is worse skillswise might get that promotion¹¹.

HSU: Now, Starbucks has long prided itself on not needing a union because it treats its employees well, and the benefits are generous. Gailyn, Claire and Megan have all gone to college on Starbucks' dime¹². So I asked the workers, what exactly do they want out of a union?

BERG: Of course, a raise - yeah, that's our very first one. And then regular raises after that.

HSU: Also, on scheduling.

SWICORD: Consistency¹³ of how many hours we get allotted¹⁴ each week.

HSU: And another big issue - tipping.

GAYDOS: Every day I have customers ask me, oh, how do I tip on the card reader?

HSU: Turns out you can't. The baristas also want Starbucks to supplement the tips. They say a lot of people don't tip because the prices are so high.

PICCIANO: It is not our fault that Starbucks keeps increasing the cost of everything to the point where it's, like, the most expensive cup of coffee you've ever had.

HSU: And aside from all of this, the workers want a say in how things are done at their store. Tim Swicord says, by seeking a union, they're in fact carrying out one of Starbucks' corporate values.

SWICORD: Acting¹⁵ with courage, challenging the status quo and finding new ways to grow our company and each other. I think that's exactly what we're doing. We are growing our store. We are growing each other.

HSU: And if they win their vote next week, also growing a movement.

FADEL: That's NPR's Andrea Hsu reporting from Springfield, Va., and she joins us now. Hi, Andrea.

HSU: Hi.

FADEL: So, Andrea, that's how things are playing out among some Starbucks employees, but we're also seeing a workers movement at Amazon. Is this also a wages issue?

HSU: Well, yeah, wages are a factor. But, you know, wages at Amazon and Starbucks are competitive. In fact, you often hear other employers saying we can't find workers because Amazon's paying $19 an hour, $22 an hour. What workers are making clear in this moment is, yes, money is important but so are health and safety, so is their well-being¹⁶. And moreover, they're saying we know best what we need because we're doing these jobs. So workers want a seat at the table now, and they think a union will give them that.

FADEL: And how have the companies reacted to the wave of organizing?

HSU: Well, they don't like it. They continue to fight it. At Starbucks, a few workers involved in organizing have actually been fired. Starbucks says they violated company policies, but union organizers say the company is engaging in unfair labor¹⁷ practices. Amazon, meanwhile, spent millions of dollars on labor consultants¹⁸. They've also held meetings with workers, trying to get them to vote no. But right now the momentum¹⁹ seems to be on the side of the unions. And we'll see how that goes.

FADEL: That's NPR's Andrea Hsu. Thank you so much for your reporting.

HSU: You're welcome.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

5 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

6 brainstorm   

vi.动脑筋，出主意，想办法，献计，献策

参考例句：

• The women meet twice a month to brainstorm and set business goals for each other.她们每个月聚会两次，在一起出谋献策，为各自制定生意目标。
• We can brainstorm a list of the most influential individuals in the company.我们可以集体讨论，列出该公司中最有影响的人员的名单。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

9 casually   

adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地

参考例句：

• She remarked casually that she was changing her job.她当时漫不经心地说要换工作。
• I casually mentioned that I might be interested in working abroad.我不经意地提到我可能会对出国工作感兴趣。

10 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

11 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

12 dime   

n.（指美国、加拿大的钱币）一角

参考例句：

• A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
• The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。

13 consistency   

n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度

参考例句：

• Your behaviour lacks consistency.你的行为缺乏一贯性。
• We appreciate the consistency and stability in China and in Chinese politics.我们赞赏中国及其政策的连续性和稳定性。

14 allotted   

分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I completed the test within the time allotted . 我在限定的时间内完成了试验。
• Each passenger slept on the berth allotted to him. 每个旅客都睡在分配给他的铺位上。

15 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

16 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

17 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

18 consultants   

顾问( consultant的名词复数 )； 高级顾问医生，会诊医生

参考例句：

• a firm of management consultants 管理咨询公司
• There're many consultants in hospital. 医院里有很多会诊医生。

19 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。