Nov. 24—Starbucks employees at the Highway 20 and Tharp Road location in Yuba City voted to unionize on Nov. 18, marking the 30th store of the coffee chain to unionize in California.
Out of the 25 eligible employees, 12 voted in favor of joining Starbucks Workers United and five voted against.
"It's so exciting to get to this moment our baristas have been working towards and be able to make our voices heard," shift supervisor J.J. Dizon said in a statement. "We're extremely proud of and inspired by the solidarity with workers across the country, and hopeful that Starbucks back up to their core values and bargain with the union for fair conditions for all baristas."
Tharp Road Starbucks employees first announced their efforts to unionize in October, citing persisting staffing issues, limited hours and safety concerns impacting workers' job performances and livelihoods. Staff members also sent a letter to Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan detailing the challenges they face and a lack of communication from higher-ups to help solve these issues.
"The partners in this store navigate difficulties every day ranging from understaffed floors for business needs, product shortages, broken equipment, limited hours, to health and safety concerns. Starbucks didn't create all of these issues but they have failed to provide long-term or timely solutions," the letter said. "Despite these shortcomings, baristas manage and continue to make meaningful connections with customers and, not only achieve, but far surpass goals as a top store in our district. However, as partners in this company, we deserve the support and acknowledgment of management in addressing these concerns."
Dizon along with other Starbucks employees previously expressed that a general lack of support from company higher-ups has contributed to the Tharp Road store's persisting issues.
Shift supervisor Kaitlyn Brooks explained that it was a discussion between a Starbucks district manager and Tharp Road barista trainers over the summer that sparked their unionization efforts. According to Brooks, upper management was placing a lot of responsibility on their employees to improve the store's sales and customer service while ignoring ongoing staffing issues.
Despite being adequately staffed, many employees claimed that they were expected to operate the Tharp Road store with the bare minimum number of staff members per shift. Others spoke to having their hours cut — often during the company's busiest seasons — and losing access to health and tuition benefits as a result.