Starbucks employees held picket signs with crossed-out Starbucks cups and surrounded the Sherman Avenue cafe’s entrance Saturday afternoon.
The protest was a continuation of Thursday’s “Red Cup Rebellion” rallies held in 17 cities nationwide — including outside the chain’s Dempster Street location.
Diego Franco, a six-year barista in Des Plaines, said the rallies stem from the corporation’s refusal to bargain in good faith and remedy its current unfair labor practices.
Franco explained the act of bargaining in good faith involves activity from “both sides of the table.” He said the expectation is that unionized workers will present proposals on what they want in their contract and their employers will work responsively with them.
This has been far from the union reality Starbucks employees are experiencing, Franco said.
“They have stonewalled our negotiations,” he said. “They have kept our wages below the rate of inflation. So many of us who have been here for a long time are making less money now than we were last year.”
The Sherman Avenue location unionized in June 2023 with a 12-4 vote.
Then-employee Sarah Wachs told The Daily in June 2023 that the decision to unionize would give workers a voice regarding their experience in the workplace.
“All of us finally will get to have a say in how we work, how we are treated and how we sustain our lives,” Wachs said. “Getting this union gives us security that we did not have before.”
Kyle Dudley, a barista at the Dempster Street Starbucks, said the rallies represent a larger movement to fight for contracts for union workers. The demonstrations were intentionally planned for Red Cup Day, which has historically been stressful for baristas working across the chain, he said.
In an email to The Daily, Starbucks spokesperson Jaci Anderson said management will be ready to talk to employees once they return to the bargaining table.
In response to worker strikes, she said any agreement should reflect Starbucks’ role as “the best job in retail.”
While movements against Starbucks management started four years ago, Dudley said the Dempster location unionized last December. He said he hopes the store’s progress will assist other locations in garnering a higher degree of corporate respect.
“If they’re not willing to listen to our voices, we’re willing to make more disruptions financially,” Dudley said.
At the time of the Saturday protest, the Dempster Street location had been closed since the initial Red Cup Rebellion rally on Thursday.
Cheering as cars honked and chanting as passersby crossed the street, the protestors’ voices could be heard from a block away.
Dudley said protestors have been met with support from the wider community, which he hopes will inspire a broader social consciousness on the movement. He said the rally should serve as a reminder that the key to Starbucks’ success is in its baristas.
“The only way we expect change from the company is when workers get together and remind the company we are the ones who actually make the money,” he said. “They need us more than our CEO because we’re the ones who actually do the work.”
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Bluesky: @lucaskubovchik.bsky.social
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