- By Natalia Gurevich | Examiner staff writer
- Jun 26, 2023 Updated 16 hrs ago (SFExaminer.com)
Striking Starbucks workers in the Castro are back at the coffee shop on Monday after nearly 20 employees picketed outside the store during San Francisco Pride celebrations on Sunday.
Customers recovering from Saturday night festivities were unable to buy their usual soy milk lattes Sunday morning at the 4094 18th St. location, as the store’s 18 workers demonstrated outside from 8 a.m. to noon in protest of what they characterize as the company’s unfair labor practices.
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Castro Starbucks workers chant, “Get up, get down, San Francisco’s a union town” during a strike on Sunday, June 25, 2023. Members of the store’s union struck in protest of the company’s labor practices and its “unacceptable” removal of Pride decorations at stores across the country.Courtesy of Gabby Garcia
Greg Zajac, a shift manager at the store, told The Examiner that the company banned and removed Pride decorations from stores across the country, and the Castro location “also experienced that type of retaliation towards the decorations.” Sunday’s demonstration allowed many of the workers to actually participate in The City’s Pride festivities.
“We thought that striking on Pride would be very on brand,” said Zajac, whose store nickname is “Princess.”
Most of their neighbors agreed, even if some weren’t too happy about the protest waking them up early.
“I would love to thank and appreciate everyone who came by and vocalized their support for us and for action, especially considering it was a disruption to their day and their daily routine,” he said.
Sunday’s strike was part of a larger dispute between the national coffee chain and its unionized workers. Thousands across the country struck over the weekend in response to the company’s “unacceptable” removal of Pride decorations and Starbucks’ failure “to bargain in good faith with workers,” according to Starbucks Workers United. The National Labor Relations Board is prosecuting the company over the latter charge, the union said.
“As more states are trying to pass anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation, the removal of Starbucks’ Pride support is unacceptable and we are here to fight not only for our basic rights to exist, but thrive,” Castro Starbucks store employees in a release.
In a lengthy statement to The Examiner, a Starbucks spokesperson said on Monday it hasn’t pulled Pride merchandise from its stories or updated its policies about the month.
“Despite today’s public commentary, there has been no change to any of our policies as it relates to our inclusive store environments, our company culture and the benefits we offer our partners.” CEO Laxman Narisimhan said in a statement. “We continue to encourage our store leaders to celebrate with their communities including for U.S. Pride month in June, as we always have.”
A Starbucks spokesperson said Starbucks Workers United “continues to spread false information about our benefits, policies and negotiation efforts,” alleging the union has failed “to respond to bargaining sessions for more than 200 stores.”
Including a ruling on Friday that Starbucks illegally punished an Illinois employee for responding to an NLRB subpoena, agency judges have ruled that the company broke federal labor laws in 17 of 18 cases since stores across the country began unionizing in 2021.
Zajac said Castro Starbucks workers face many of the same issues as their national peers, including regular scheduling and an indefinite wait for the beginning of union contract negotiations.
At the 18th Street Starbucks, the lobby and customer restroom also haven’t reopened since closing last year, despite workers’ objections.
“They claimed it was out of safety and concern for our partners, but none of the partners at the store really wanted that to happen,” he said of the company.
Since becoming the first San Francisco Starbucks to successfully unionize last year, Zajac said many businesses and community members have expressed solidarity, as have other unions. San Francisco Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s office has even bought them lunch.
As of right now, the Castro Starbucks employees don’t have any other demonstrations planned for the near future. Zajac, who will celebrate his eighth anniversary at the store in a few days, said the ball is in Starbucks’ court.
“I think we’ll be waiting for a response to see if Starbucks ends up doing anything,” he said.
