Ruby Walters, who works at a Starbucks location in Columbus, told member station WOSU from the picket line over the weekend that most workers “have a very similar experience of the company not affording them enough resources that they need, not only to take home and improve their lives, but literally on the job.”
“So as far as I’m concerned, what we’re fighting for isn’t just for us,” Walters added. “It’s for all Starbucks workers across the country.”
What Starbucks is saying
Kelly, the Starbucks executive, said the union’s proposals amount to an increase in the hourly minimum wage of 64% immediately and 77% over three years, which she dismissed as unrealistic.
“These proposals are not sustainable, especially when the investments we continually make to our total benefits package are the hallmarks of what differentiates us as an employer — and, what makes us proud to work at Starbucks,” she said.
Those benefits include health care, free college tuition, paid family leave and company stock grants, Starbucks says, adding that the combination of average pay and benefits equates to an average of $30 per hour for the vast majority of baristas working at least 20 hours per week.
The union is asking for a base wage of at least $20 an hour for all baristas with annual 5% raises and cost of living adjustments, enrollment in a Starbucks-sponsored retirement plan, more consistent schedules, enhanced paid leave protocols and better healthcare, among other initiatives.
In the final stretch of the four-day strike, it is calling on Starbucks to present a “serious economic offer at the bargaining table.”
The company, for its part, says the union “prematurely ended” the most recent bargaining session and is urging it to come back.
“The union chose to walk away from bargaining last week,” Kelly said. “We are ready to continue negotiations when the union comes back to the bargaining table.”
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