Posted on Jun 30, 2022
The barista uprising: Coffee shop workers ignite a union renewal
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https://www.npr.org/2022/06/30/ [login to see] /coffee-shop-starbucks-baristas-union-election-cafe
As the wave of worker organizing at Starbucks took off this year, Steph Achter looked on with joy.
"I think we're all kind of on a similar page ... of just being like, enough is enough!" says Achter, a career barista who led a union campaign at an independently owned café in Milwaukee in 2020. "It's so exciting. I am pumped."
Achter is part of a barista-led labor movement that has grown with stunning speed. Coffee shops are driving a surge in union elections, up 70% from this time last year. Starbucks alone accounts for more than half the growth, but baristas at small businesses are unionizing too, and some of them well before Starbucks.
To understand how cafés became hot spots for organizing, consider the kind of workers coffee shops attract. The people making your latte tend to be young, educated and progressive in their politics. And they're part of a generation of workers who have faced massive upheaval in their young lives — economic disruption, social unrest, a global pandemic and a labor market that has emboldened workers to ask for more.
As the wave of worker organizing at Starbucks took off this year, Steph Achter looked on with joy.
"I think we're all kind of on a similar page ... of just being like, enough is enough!" says Achter, a career barista who led a union campaign at an independently owned café in Milwaukee in 2020. "It's so exciting. I am pumped."
Achter is part of a barista-led labor movement that has grown with stunning speed. Coffee shops are driving a surge in union elections, up 70% from this time last year. Starbucks alone accounts for more than half the growth, but baristas at small businesses are unionizing too, and some of them well before Starbucks.
To understand how cafés became hot spots for organizing, consider the kind of workers coffee shops attract. The people making your latte tend to be young, educated and progressive in their politics. And they're part of a generation of workers who have faced massive upheaval in their young lives — economic disruption, social unrest, a global pandemic and a labor market that has emboldened workers to ask for more.
The barista uprising: Coffee shop workers ignite a union renewal
Posted from npr.orgPosted in these groups: 
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Starbucks
Posted 2 y ago
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You never know what a job is like until you have it. Working with the public is never easy.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Barista Steph Achter, now the union shop steward at Likewise in Milwaukee, pays $30 a month in union dues. 'I feel like for the first time, I have job security,' Achter says.
Barista Steph Achter, now the union shop steward at Likewise in Milwaukee, pays $30 a month in union dues. "I feel like for the first time, I have job security," Achter says.
Darren Hauck for NPR
The pandemic was a turning point.
In 2020, Achter was working at a Milwaukee café then known as Wonderstate. (After an ownership shuffle, the café was renamed Likewise.)
COVID made all of the existing problems worse. And on top of that, the workers felt excluded from decisions being made that greatly impacted their health and safety. It felt wrong, given they were the ones facing the risks.
Achter and a co-worker decided to take action. Drawing inspiration from other Milwaukee baristas who had started organizing, they asked for raises and more say in how the business was run, among other demands.
The café owners, facing pandemic losses, said no.
Undeterred, Achter got in touch with the Teamsters, who now had experience organizing in coffee. This time, it was a much smaller campaign, with only six employees in the bargaining unit. And this time, the union won."...
..."Barista Steph Achter, now the union shop steward at Likewise in Milwaukee, pays $30 a month in union dues. 'I feel like for the first time, I have job security,' Achter says.
Barista Steph Achter, now the union shop steward at Likewise in Milwaukee, pays $30 a month in union dues. "I feel like for the first time, I have job security," Achter says.
Darren Hauck for NPR
The pandemic was a turning point.
In 2020, Achter was working at a Milwaukee café then known as Wonderstate. (After an ownership shuffle, the café was renamed Likewise.)
COVID made all of the existing problems worse. And on top of that, the workers felt excluded from decisions being made that greatly impacted their health and safety. It felt wrong, given they were the ones facing the risks.
Achter and a co-worker decided to take action. Drawing inspiration from other Milwaukee baristas who had started organizing, they asked for raises and more say in how the business was run, among other demands.
The café owners, facing pandemic losses, said no.
Undeterred, Achter got in touch with the Teamsters, who now had experience organizing in coffee. This time, it was a much smaller campaign, with only six employees in the bargaining unit. And this time, the union won."...
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