Crosscut Now
Mar. 1, 2023 - Union fight shows hard road to contracts
3/1/2023 | 1m 15sVideo has Closed Captions
Starbucks union fight shows hard road for many toward contract.
Prolonged negotiations and mounting complaints at the Seattle-based coffee retailer show the obstacles a new labor movement faces.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Crosscut Now is a local public television program presented by Cascade PBS
Crosscut Now
Mar. 1, 2023 - Union fight shows hard road to contracts
3/1/2023 | 1m 15sVideo has Closed Captions
Prolonged negotiations and mounting complaints at the Seattle-based coffee retailer show the obstacles a new labor movement faces.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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The first Starbucks store to unionize in December of 2021 sparked a flurry of union elections among the chain, which has since reached 286 locations, including 20 in Washington.
But that's just the beginning of the fight, according to Bloomberg Law, it takes on average more than 400 days from unionizing to signing a first contract.
For some of the earliest Starbucks stores to unionize, the journey is likely to stretch much longer.
This resurgence in union activity and a push for unionization cascaded among workers from Washington based companies, including Amazon and REI during the pandemic.
It also spread east to farm workers on the other side of the state.
To slow this surge, companies have tried to draw out contract negotiations.
In response, unions have filed a number of unfair labor practice complaints.
(upbeat music) I'm Jay Martin Jr., find non-profit Northwest news every day on crosscut.com.
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