This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available. Last updated May 27 at 5:55 p.m.
Mayor Daniel Biss joined unionized Starbucks baristas at a Tuesday news conference, aligning himself with workers who accused the coffee chain of violating Evanston labor law.
Standing alongside workers bearing “No Contract? No Coffee!” signs and chanting pro-union slogans, Biss alleged the city had received credible reports of “truly abusive behavior” by Starbucks.
In a Wednesday statement to The Daily, a Starbucks spokesperson said the company “has continued to engage in good faith” with the union but did not directly respond to Biss’ comment.
The news conference, held outside the Lorraine H. Morton City Hall, came as Starbucks Workers United baristas continued to push for a finalized union contract.
“We want to make sure no worker has a shift added in at the last minute, without the ability to arrange childcare, without being compensated fairly,” Biss said.
Among the attendees who turned out to support the Starbucks baristas were Ald. Juan Geracaris (9th), two volunteers with the Democratic Socialists of America and 9th Ward resident Leonard Lamkin, a longtime union organizer.
Lamkin, who previously helped collect signatures for the SWU’s “No Contract, No Coffee” consumer boycott pledge, said Biss was not initially set to speak with the Starbucks baristas.
The baristas originally planned to protest the city’s alleged failure to enforce the Fair Workweek Ordinance at the City Council meeting Tuesday evening, he said. Organizers instead decided to “thank the city for enforcing the law” after Biss expressed his support, he said.
“I think that’s the same kind of pressure we’re putting on Starbucks,” Lamkin said.
SWU launched an unfair labor practices strike at dozens of unionized stores in November to protest alleged labor law violations and pressure the company to reach an agreement with the union.
At Tuesday’s press conference, Biss said his message to workers was “simple.”
“We stand with you, and we look forward to partnering with you to make sure that our laws are enforced, so that you can do the work that you signed up to do for the pay that you signed up to get,” Biss said.
Following the press conference, SWU members and volunteers canvassed nearby non-union stores, seeking to expand the list of unionized Starbucks in Evanston.
Pastor Luke Harris-Ferree of Grace Lutheran Church spoke after Biss in support of the union, and said Starbucks was treating workers as disposable “in pursuit of corporate profit.”
“Our scriptures remind us that God created each and every living thing in their divine image, and we should respect and honor all people as we would the divine,” they said.
Starbucks barista and 9th Ward resident Marilyn Lett led the news conference. She said she moved from Kentucky to Evanston a year ago due to anti-trans hostility in her home state and now works at the Starbucks on Sherman Avenue.
Lett told The Daily it had been a “cold union” store — meaning it had voted to unionize but lacked an active union presence — until she connected with the store’s union representative. She has since become more involved in the Starbucks unionization effort across Evanston, and she praised Biss’ support for the union.
“I found that Mayor Biss has been super receptive,” Lett said. “He is super passionate about workers’ rights, and he really understands and supports our issues and how we should be moving forward on this.”
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