ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — A Starbucks store in Maryland Heights has become the latest in the region to unionize.
Starbucks workers at the Maryland Heights store along Page Avenue voted 14-3 Tuesday to unionize, becoming the eighth to do so in the St. Louis area.
Starbucks Workers United announced the vote on Wednesday and shared statements from two organizing members who work at the location.
Barista Tori Davies claimed her hours dropped from 25-30 a week to an average of 16 after the holiday season, leaving her ineligible for health care and free college tuition benefits.
"I had communicated with my manager at the time that I needed to work more and was told to pick up other people’s shifts (which everyone was trying to do) and that I will get more hours once the weather warms up," Davies said. "Months later, I am still working under the 20 hour minimum to receive benefits. The benefits would be nice, but it was especially heartbreaking to see my co-workers that rely on it lose their health care due to lackluster scheduling."
"It feels like something has shifted, like we all collectively have this super power," said shift supervisor Lee Williams. I'm so happy for the team and it's so exciting to officially be a part of something so much bigger than myself."
Since December 2021, over 350 stores in the United States have unionized, according to Starbucks Workers United.
Starbucks said in a statement, "Will reinforce that we respect the right of all partners to make their own decisions about union representation, and we are committed to engaging in good faith collective bargaining for each store where a union has been appropriately certified."
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