Workers at the Starbucks at 10th and Market are trying to unionize

Workers at the Starbucks at 10th and Market Streets filed paperwork with the National Labor Relations Board to form a union, continuing a wave of organizing efforts at Starbucks stores across Philadelphia and the rest of the U.S.

The petition, filed Feb. 1, is for a unit of 12 workers. Seven workers filed union cards to show their support for forming a union, according to one of the effort’s leaders. They hosted a sip-in at the 10th and Market location on Tuesday to celebrate the filing, where the instruction to supporters was “order small and tip big.”

Workers at six Philadelphia Starbucks locations voted to unionize last year. At two other locations in the city, workers filed a petition with the NLRB, but the majority ultimately voted against unionizing.

“One of these days, Starbucks is going to have to bow to the pressure” and improve workplace conditions, said Daisy Confoy, 23, a barista at the 10th and Market Starbucks since August. “I think it’s coming.”

Confoy is also a member of the Democratic Socialists of America’s Philadelphia chapter and has been involved in that organization’s efforts to help workers organize across industries. Asked whether she applied to that Starbucks location to help unionize it, she said, “It was absolutely on my mind, but it wasn’t my intention.”

Barista Ella Valdivia, who joined Starbucks about 1½ years ago, worked with Confoy to gather support for the union. Valdivia said they had been moved to the 12th and Market store for a few months, along with coworkers, when the 10th and Market store was closed down temporarily. Just before they were relocated there, a few of the 12th and Market workers had attempted to unionize but ultimately lost the vote, 13-3.

“I thought it was really cool” that workers — which Starbucks calls “partners” — put in the effort to organize, Valdivia said, even at the locations where they didn’t get a majority vote. They also have friends at locations that successfully unionized.

Valdivia and Confoy said they have felt unsupported by management with regard to the temperature in their store, insufficient staffing, and security issues. Valdivia said they have encountered threats and store visitors trying to touch them over the counter, as well as problems with angry customers. They didn’t believe that management addressed those instances appropriately.

“We’ve been clear in our belief that we are better together as partners, without a union between us, and that conviction has not changed,” Starbucks spokesperson Andrew Trull said in an email. “We’re aware that a small number of partners feel differently, and we respect their right to organize and to engage in lawful union activities.”

Trull also noted recent improvements to the employee experience, such as bringing the average partner wage to $17.50 an hour, new technology for tipping with credit and debit cards, and such benefits as a savings program and sick time accrual improvements.

“At those stores where our partners have chosen to petition for a union representation election, our focus is to ensure that they can trust the process is fair, their voice and vote are considered, and that the outcome is true and accurate,” Trull added. “We hope that the union will respect our right to share factual information and our perspective with partners in advance of the scheduled election — just as we respect the union’s right to do so — so that partners are able to make an informed, balanced decision regarding union representation.”

A vote on unionizing has not yet been scheduled for the 10th and Market location.

The NLRB filed a complaint against Starbucks late last month regarding allegations of union-busting at two of the unionized Philadelphia locations. A spokesperson for Starbucks, in response to the complaint, said the company did not break any labor laws. The company is facing dozens of complaints and allegations of violations across the U.S., said organizer Casey Moore, of Starbucks Workers United.