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Oct. 9, 2023 |  By: Mark Moran - Public News Service

Iowa City Starbucks joins growing union movement

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By Mark Moran - Public News Service

Staff at a Starbucks location in downtown Iowa City voted to unionize but so far, no contract talks are scheduled.

The workers gathered last month with labor organizers to mark their decision. The store joins more than 360 Starbucks locations nationwide where workers have voted to join a union.

The issues in the Iowa City location are not unique to the labor movement. Workers want better wages, a say in profit-sharing decisions, beefed-up staffing, better health care benefits and work-life balance.

Jennifer Sherer, president of the Iowa City Federation of Labor, said the workers also have safety concerns being located downtown.

"There were active shooter alerts downtown, and they've been told by management in the past that they're not allowed to lock the door during those active shooter alerts," Sherer explained.

The employees have also expressed concern over sanitation problems in their store. Employees of the Iowa City Englert Theatre also unionized this year and agreed on a contract, which went into effect in June.

A recent Gallup poll showed 67% of Americans support labor unions, a movement gaining momentum across the country among companies big and small.

While the move to unionize is widespread among Starbucks locations nationwide, not a single store has reached a contract agreement with company management. Sherer argued Starbucks is using what she describes as a typical corporate stall tactic.

"The company is continuing to refuse to sit down and negotiate with them in good faith," Sherer contended. "That's what the law said the company is supposed to do after workers have taken this vote to unionize."

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has claimed the company has not broken labor laws and is willing to bargain with workers who have voted to unionize. The U.S. Senate has been critical of Schultz and the company's tactics, saying no one is above labor law.