Employees at a Starbucks in Hopewell Township announced Tuesday morning that they have launched a unionization drive, the first New Jersey location to do so, following two recent successful efforts in Buffalo, New York.
Members of the organizing committee for the 800A Denow Road location posted a letter on Twitter to the company’s president and CEO Kevin Johnson detailing their frustrations over understaffing and overwork, which, they say it boosted their organizing efforts.
Lately, customers have been receiving “a rushed order, put together by a team of baristas struggling to balance an unreasonable number of tasks at the same time,” reads part of the letter.
Workers report understaffing, safety concerns with COVID-19 and that contacting the chain’s partner resource hotline leads to no action.
Employees also seek better hours and that the company respect the right of members to organize.
“We champion the Starbucks experience and build a company together where partners and business can prosper and share in success. And, most importantly, we are always together like a Starbucks. Always, ”the company said in a statement.
The Hopewell location follows a recent trend of organizing other Starbucks stores. Employees voted to join a union at a Buffalo, New York location, the first store to do so, in early December. A second store in the Buffalo area won a vote Monday.
Other stores that have launched organizing efforts include locations in Boston, Chicago, and Seattle, among others. Starbucks baristas in at least eight cities, including Buffalo, have announced organizing efforts, according to Reuters.
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