At least 16 Starbucks locations in Massachusetts have taken steps to form a union despite significant pushback from corporate. Two local baristas detailed the union-busting efforts for Jim Braude on Greater Boston.
"The main thing is that our hours have been cut and that started around the time that we started passing out unionizing cards," said Julia Berkman, a Starbucks barista in Waban. She said she started out working around 26 hours a week and now only gets about 13 hours.
Berkman said one thing that motivated her to begin unionizing was wages. She has worked at Starbucks for 11 years and received a raise that was only $1 per hour more than what new hires were making.
Khylah Clay, one of the lead organizers for the statewide Starbucks Workers' Union United, said, "I've heard a lot of really egregious conduct by corporate but specifically at my store."
She described mandatory listening sessions held by regional directors during which "they would essentially feed us anti-union propaganda."
Clay added, "we've never had a voice in the company that we worked for and that's really what has been the rallying cry for all of us is we just want a voice in our company."
Starbucks said in a statement, "We are listening and learning from the partners in the stores as we always do across the country. From the beginning, we've been clear in our belief that we're better together as partners without a union and that conviction has not changed. We respect our partners' right to organize and we are committed to following the NLRB process."
Watch: Starbucks baristas describe corporate pushback and punishments over unionization efforts
