Staff at Calgary Starbucks set to vote in union drive

Workers at a Starbucks location in Calgary will begin an attempt to unionize.

In January, the employees at the Starbucks in Chinook Centre made a move to get certified with the United Steelworkers.

This led to a hearing with the Alberta Labour Relations Board, but that was delayed.

Now, it is known the drive can start moving ahead with mail-in ballots getting sent out to the employees and results expected in March.

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If the attempt to join the union is successful, this Starbucks will be the second Canadian location of the massive coffee chain to get representation after workers in Victoria, B.C. were already successful in 2020. It also follows growing movements in the United States, where employees at Starbucks are demanding better working conditions during this lengthy pandemic.

“The first thing is wages, but what we’re finding with Starbucks is often dignity and respect. Workers are really troubled everywhere,” said Stephen Hunt, Western Canadian Director of the United Steelworkers. “Workers are the front line, they’re the face of Starbucks. Sometimes workers are attacked because somebody doesn’t like to wear a mask, and workers have to deal with that. Now with the ability to Skip the Dishes and other avenues for take-out orders, while they’re filling out these orders there’s people standing at the counter.”

Hunt says workers also see increased discrimination, including racism and sexual harassment, and then they also have to take on more responsibilities given the nature of staffing for a business like Starbucks.

“There’s a high turnover, so the people that are left behind are responsible for the training, and really it comes down in some sense to the management of the store itself. And I think that puts extra pressure on people, and I don’t think — based on what I’m hearing from people — they’re recognized for that effort,” Hunt added.

He said that by and large they see Starbucks as a good company, though he admits an organization like United Steelworkers can be seen as an “interloper.”

Hunt said they are also getting lots of support from across the country, and is hopeful for the prospects of this union drive.

“It takes a tremendous amount of courage for people who are non-union, especially in jobs like this in the service sector to even go through a union, because you’ve got to get everyone together,” he said. “I think what it means to Starbucks is that when they sit in Seattle and they make their policies, they might want to think a little more sharply on why people are doing this. They’re not doing this because it’s fun.”

At least 9 of the 17 employees of the Starbucks will have to vote in favour in order for it to pass.

Starbucks Canada provided a statement to CityNews Calgary expressing that they feel a union is not needed, but they will not retaliate if staff vote in favour.

“Starbucks success—past, present and future—is built on how we partner together, always with Our Mission and Values at our core,” a spokesperson wrote. “From the beginning, we’ve been clear in our belief that we are better together as partners, without a union between us at Starbucks, and that conviction has not changed. We continue to respect our partners’ right to organize or not to organize and we will respect the process.”