The University of Oregon Young Democratic Socialists held a rally on Wednesday at UO’s Erb Memorial Union Amphitheater to show support and solidarity for Starbucks workers’ ongoing push for employee unions. Speakers included Starbucks employees and members of the three workers unions on campus: United Academics, Graduate Teaching Fellow Federation and Service Employees International Union.
“This campaign to organize Starbucks is a symbol of the much bigger fight that we are in, and of a shift that is happening that we have to nurture and take part of,” said GTFF member Michael Marchman. “Unions are essential to democracy.”
Low pay, inconsistent hours and unsafe working conditions were cited as driving issues behind the efforts for Starbucks unionization. “Starbucks is a multibillion dollar company, yet workers who have been at Starbucks for ten plus years make barely a dollar more than somebody who starts today,” said Alexia Moller, a worker at the EMU Starbucks. When Moller got a pay raise, she had to call “twelve different people” at corporate for a whole month to get the wages she was owed.
Moller explained that management will often schedule workers for 5.75 hours so they will not be given the lunch break they would be allowed at 6 hours. When Moller got a concussion on the job due to the cramped conditions in the store, there was no follow up from the district manager.
“Unions are the workers. We get to see the problems and we get to say, ‘hey you need to get this fixed,’ and the company has to listen,” said Christian Sevey, also a worker at the EMU Starbucks.
The push for unionization was not the only issue on the table at Wednesday’s rally. Members from UO Student Workers Campaign read anonymous testimonies of workers on campus to highlight inadequacies in a multitude of work environments. Low wages, unmanageable hours and unsafe conditions were featured in the written statements.
“If you are a student worker and you experience any of these grievances, just know that you are not alone,” said Katie O’Mara, vice president of UOYDS. “Things can change if you talk about your working conditions, talk about your pay. You’re never going to know that your co-worker is experiencing those same things if you don’t talk to them.”
Max Jensen of UOYDS revealed plans to create a ballot initiative in the UO student elections next term to create positions that would represent student workers on campus, as well as a student labor director “who would help to organize workers in their workplace when they are asking for raises and better conditions.”
