Starbucks workers at Tumwater location announce two-day strike

In response to Starbucks’ continued union-busting practices, Starbucks workers from the Capitol Blvd and Trosper St. locations are going on a two-day strike. Workers from this store, located at 5300 Capitol Blvd SE, will be withholding their labor on Friday, September 9th and Saturday, September 10th.

Referred to as Tumwater Drive-Thru by Olympia locals, the workers here filed a petition to unionize with the National Labor Relations Board on March 28, 2022. Since then, at the direction of Starbucks corporate executives (Interim CEO Howard Schultz and Chairwoman Mellody Hobson), management has participated in unethical practices that directly result in the harm and hardship of low-wage workers.

In the spring of 2022, Starbucks unveiled new raises and benefits that would roll out on August 1st. However, Howard Schultz was adamant that these raises and benefits would not be offered to union-represented stores. Additionally, the company has failed to support stores like Tumwater Drive-Thru by refusing to adequately respond to urgent safety concerns, failing to sufficiently staff the shop floor, and disproportionately targeting and firing union leaders.

“The world runs on labor. For anyone out there who’s forced to sell their labor, who’s depressed by the state of the world, who feels powerless: this is your power. Labor is your power.” - Dylan Lux, Shift Lead

“When we work with understaffed floors during the biggest season of the year, we’re just showing the company that it’s okay to keep understaffing us. We’re striking to show the company that it’s not okay to keep pushing us to our limits.” -Grey Hannah, Barista

Despite Starbucks’ aggressive anti-union campaign, on June 7, 2022, Tumwater Drive-Thru voted 12-3 in favor of a union. These brave employees are part of a larger movement - an unprecedented campaign that has reinvigorated the labor movement. The union drive at Starbucks began in August 2021 in Buffalo, NY. As of September 7th, 326 stores in 37 states have filed to unionize. 233 stores in 33 states have successfully become union-certified by the NLRB.

Starbucks workers and their community will be picketing outside the Capitol and Trosper store in Tumwater, WA on Friday 9/9 from NOON to 3pm.

Editors' Note: This article was sent to The JOLT on September 8, 2022.