Workers at Moorhead Starbucks first in F-M area to unionize
Apr. 23—MOORHEAD — Workers who helped establish the first unionized Starbucks in the Fargo-Moorhead area say the move put the store on a good path and they hope the union and Starbucks will soon agree on their first labor contract.
"I feel like, since the election, we're slowly moving toward the right direction. We're slowly seeing positive changes," said Leo Rand, a barista at the
Starbucks in the EasTen Shopping Center
along Highway 10 in Moorhead, where workers voted 12-10 in early February to join Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union.
In recent years,
Workers United has organized more than 400 company-owned Starbucks locations
around the U.S.
Rand was part of the union organizing committee at the Moorhead store, which also included Trey Zeltinger and Mac McLellan.
McLellan said they supported joining the union because they saw problems that weren't getting addressed.
"We wanted to find a way to have more of a collective power, so that we could see some more positive changes within the store," McLellan said, adding that, like Rand, she believes positive changes are already happening.
Workers at a Starbucks in Grand Forks
voted in March to join the union,
the first Starbucks in the state to do so.
Zeltinger said in the case of the union vote at the Moorhead store, the process of getting an election together was not complicated and was able to be completed online at
. Zeltinger added that for a worker interested in organizing a union vote, it's a simple matter of filling out a form and identifying the store where they work.
The Moorhead Starbucks workers say pay and scheduling are at the center of contract negotiations now underway, with one priority being a push to raise starting pay to $20 an hour.
Rand said when she started at the coffee shop about a year ago, her starting pay was around $15.25 an hour, though she said starting pay has risen a bit since then.
Zeltinger said he loves his job and he loves talking to the regulars, something he said Starbucks recognizes as important.
"In Starbucks' mission and values (statement), they talk about genuine human connection, and that's what I like about it," Zeltinger said of his job.
McLellan said she also loves her job and believes things can be even better.
"I like the potential it (the store) can be, I know it can do these good things, and I believe that they have the power to do them and that's why I'm still here," she said.
In response to questions from The Forum, Starbucks said in a written statement that the company is deeply committed to its workers, including those who have chosen to bargain collectively.
In December, Starbucks Chief Partner Officer Sara Kelly
sent a letter
to Workers United President Lynne Fox in an attempt to establish the groundwork to resume contract negotiations with U.S. workers who had chosen union representation, the statement from Starbucks said.
The statement added that in late February, Starbucks and Workers United announced they were starting discussions aimed at achieving contract agreements and resolving certain litigation, among other things.
So far, Zaltinger said, negotiations seem to be going well.
"They have showed good faith, so we're trying to show them good faith back," he said.
