North Wales Starbucks Workers Unionize

NORTH WALES, PA — Workers at a Starbucks store in North Wales have agreed to form a union to improve what they called deteriorating working conditions. It marks the 9th location of the popular coffee chain to organize in Pennsylvania.

Specifically, employees at North Penn point to living wages, fair scheduling, racial and gender equity, and basic respect as reasons for their union. Workers voted 15-1 in favor of the union, representatives told Patch.

“After having to deal with fear of losing our jobs for months on end for no reason and being unable to fight back, it is such a relief to finally be in the union,” said Lee A. Wesolowski, a barista at the North Wales Starbucks. “With collective protection from the union we no longer have a fear of severe retaliation from just trying to get our work done."

Organizers said that some 9,000 baristas have joined Starbucks Workers United across the country, and called the work "one of the most successful campaigns in decades."

The victory for workers comes in the wake of the pandemic and inflation, which left millions of Americans on the brink of financial collapse. Massive income inequities, coupled simultaneously with the rising cost of food and rent, have led to surges in homelessness.

In the Philadelphia area, wages increased by an average of just 4.4 percent over the past year, according to federal statistics, falling well short of compensating for a drastically shifting economic environment and leaving the average worker to bear the brunt of the impact.

More than 370 Starbucks stores in 41 states have unionized since Dec. 2021. Organizers say that companies present a progressive image to achieve an end, but radical inequality speaks for itself.

"While Starbucks promotes its workplace as progressive, they shove you down and force you to spout corporate nonsense, it’s awful," Wesolowski added. "But now with the union, we can help make our store a better place for us and anyone new that wants to work here.”

In response to a request for comment from Patch, Starbucks said they "respect our partners' right to organize...without fear of reprisal or retaliation."

"We welcome the opportunity for partners at our North Wales store to vote in a neutral, secret ballot election conducted by the NLRB, which allows all partners to make their own informed decision regarding union representation," Starbucks spokesperson Andrew Trull said. "In advance of the union representation election, our focus will be to ensure that they can trust the process is fair and their voice is heard."

In their statement, Starbucks also outlined their benefits packages, and noted that they recently increased average pay across the nation. They also said that they've released a more dynamic scheduling platform that they believe will offer employees more flexibility.

Starbucks Works United alleges that the company has illegally fired 38 employees and committed more than 300 violations of federal labor law nationwide. They also allege that non-union workers have received better treatment and higher wages in some cases, in violation of federal law.

Starbucks is located on 271 Dekalb Pike in North Wales.