Inwood and Willow Starbucks Workers File to Unionize

The workers at the Starbucks at Inwood Road and Willow Lane filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to unionize with Starbucks Workers United.

The employees are joining a nationwide movement of hundreds of stores organizing for better working conditions.

Employees created a video announcing their campaign and sent it to Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan. Workers explained on-camera that they’re unionizing “to fight for a living wage for all baristas, to fight the horrible management that Starbucks gives us, and to fight for livable hours.”

“For the last three years of working for Starbucks, I’ve rarely felt listened to, supported, or appreciated in any role I’ve played,” said Makayla Boydstun, a partner and organizer at the Inwood Road and Willow Lane location. “I want to unionize to be recognized and compensated fairly, not only for my work but every barista who came before and after me who has ever felt the same.”

We’ve reached out to the store’s general manager for comment via text and phone call and haven’t heard back. We also attempted to reach the district manager over email, but have not received a response. We’ll update this post if we hear back from either party.

Starbucks has launched a union-busting campaign that has included firing more than 230 union leaders across the country, according to the Starbucks Workers United media release. The NLRB has issued more than 80 official complaints against the company encompassing more than 1,400 violations of federal labor law.

We reached out to Starbucks’ corporate media contact for a comment on these claims but haven’t heard back as of this publication.

For more information about the national movement, visit @SBWorkersUnited on Twitter.