Chestnut Hill Starbucks workers voted unanimously on May 30 to unionize, joining Starbucks Workers United. 

The vote makes the company’s Chestnut Hill location the 15th in the Philadelphia area to join the union and the 41st in Pennsylvania. In total, Starbucks Workers United represents over 11,000 baristas in more than 590 stores across the country. 

In a press release, the union wrote, “The Chestnut Hill partners join a growing nationwide movement of more than 11,000 baristas working together to win workplace protections on core issues like living wages, respect, racial and gender equity, and fair scheduling and staffing.”

The process of unionizing went very fast, according to Tony Schultz, a shift supervisor at the Chestnut Hill location. 

“It was a very simple process, considering we unanimously all voted yes. So it wasn't like there was a lot of difficulty,” Schultz told the Local. “In total, it was about two months, maybe two-and-a-half months, most of which was just waiting for the petition to get approved.” 

Being one of the few corporate businesses in Chestnut Hill, Starbucks has been a staple of the Avenue since it opened in the 1990s. 

Schultz said, “I feel as though that kind of holds them to a higher standard because people are going to have more expectations of a corporate entity than a local mom-and-pop shop. Starbucks has kind of been like a figurehead in Chestnut Hill since it opened … They've had families come through there, and they've had so many celebrations in there. So, it means a lot of different things to a lot of different people, besides just being a coffee shop.” 

Located directly across from the Chestnut Hill West train station, the Starbucks at 8515 Germantown Ave. is in a prime location on the Avenue and stays busy. However, Schultz says consistent staffing issues during peak hours ultimately pushed them and their coworkers to unionize. 

Schultz said, “We got very tired of being constantly understaffed and having more and more things thrown at us beyond just helping customers. … We just got very sick of it, and figured that nothing's going to change if we don't try to make a change. So, we started working towards joining the union and have since successfully joined the union.” 

In response, a Starbucks spokesperson shared a statement with the Local reading, “At Starbucks, our success starts and ends with our partners (employees). We respect our partners’ right to choose, through a fair and democratic process, to be represented by a union or not to be represented by a union, and will continue to work together to make Starbucks the best job in retail.  

The statement continued, “Since last April Starbucks and Workers United have held more than nine bargaining sessions over 20 days and three mediation sessions over five days with a federal mediator. We’ve reached over 30 meaningful agreements on hundreds of topics Workers United delegates told us were important to them.”

Staffing issues

Amid ongoing negotiations at the national level, the union has pushed for more staffing. Proposed requirements call for no fewer than three people working on the floor at any time. 

At the Chestnut Hill location, Schultz said there are often only two workers during some of the busiest hours of the day. It can be tough to manage taking orders, making drinks, and dealing with cleanup while timing lunch and bathroom breaks with only one other person on the clock. 

Schultz said, “Very frequently, from about 2 to 8 p.m. we would only have two of us working on the floor at a time. … It’s just not tenable.” 

Ongoing understaffing puts immense stress on Schultz and their co-workers. They said, “There's been moments of snapping. Personally, I have snapped on the floor in front of customers. Not the greatest moments. (Understaffing) absolutely wears you down because you're juggling so many things at the exact same time, and there's no breaking from it. You can't just stop doing those things.”

In response to staffing concerns, a Starbucks spokesperson wrote, “Starbucks is dedicated to partner-centric scheduling and providing partners with hours that align with their individual needs and preferences is a top priority.”

The statement continued, “This is reflected in Starbucks commitment to diligently create work schedules that carefully balance the availability of our partners with the staffing needs of individual stores. Coupled with higher wages and the expansion of hours, these investments have not only resulted in lower turnover but have also increased hourly total cash compensation by nearly 50% since FY2020.”

Lack of response

Starbucks locations are not franchised like some other fast food chains, so when Schultz wanted to reach out with concerns over staffing, they had to go through the store and regional managers. 

Schultz said, “I spoke to both our store manager and our district manager offering [staffing] solutions that could work within the bounds of what they were offering, and there was zero percent [consideration] given. It was basically just, ‘Yeah, we'll see what we can do,’ and then nothing.”

Now that the workers are part of the union, Schultz feels like their voice is amplified and concerns feel less like shouting into the void. 

“Even if, for the time being, in this present moment, it doesn't change anything, they at least have to respect and listen to our voice, because it's not just my voice anymore, it's an entire platform,” Schultz said. 

Moving forward

As negotiations between the union and Starbucks continue, Schultz hopes the residents of Chestnut Hill will support the workers through their efforts. 

“If we ever do have to go on strike, or if anything does happen, or even just coming in and being vocally supportive of the fact that we've unionized, that's really all that I would ask,” Schultz said. 

They added, “Thankfully, we have a very, very good crew of regulars that come through nearly every single day, some of which have already voiced a lot of support for the fact that we've unionized, and I'm very thankful and appreciative of that, and I feel like we actually are supported by the community in what we're trying to accomplish.” 

Tommy Tucker can be reached at Tommy@chestnuthilllocal.com.