1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:03,520 Speaker 1: This is Alec Baldwin and you were listening to Here's 2 00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:05,960 Speaker 1: the Thing from iHeart Radio. 3 00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:10,440 Speaker 2: My dad died in eighty seven, and I wanted to 4 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:12,480 Speaker 2: try and build the kind of company he never got 5 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 2: a chance to work for. 6 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:19,480 Speaker 1: That's Howard Schultz, three time CEO of the Starbucks Corporation, 7 00:00:19,880 --> 00:00:22,520 Speaker 1: when he was a guest on this podcast in September 8 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:23,960 Speaker 1: of twenty sixteen. 9 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:29,120 Speaker 2: So the entire business model was trying to balance profit 10 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:34,120 Speaker 2: with conscience, benevolence, and social impact. So the first thing 11 00:00:34,159 --> 00:00:37,199 Speaker 2: I did was everyone at Starbucks was going to be 12 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 2: an owner. So I gave ownership to every employee in 13 00:00:40,479 --> 00:00:44,040 Speaker 2: eighty seven, which I've done since then. And I gave 14 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:47,440 Speaker 2: comprehensive health insurance, first company in America to provide comprehensive 15 00:00:47,479 --> 00:00:48,320 Speaker 2: health way before. 16 00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:50,360 Speaker 1: The Affordable Care for every single person that works for you. 17 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:53,560 Speaker 2: Yes, yeah, what does that cost you a year before 18 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:56,000 Speaker 2: the Affordable Care Act? It costs three hundred million a year, 19 00:00:56,640 --> 00:01:00,320 Speaker 2: more than the cost of coffee beans for Starbucks. Thought 20 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:02,480 Speaker 2: it was crazy, and I was trying to raise money 21 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:04,440 Speaker 2: at the same time. I had all these ideas and 22 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:05,720 Speaker 2: people said, wait, you. 23 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:06,960 Speaker 1: Want to get rid of that component? 24 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:09,280 Speaker 2: Yeah, And I said no, I said, I'm going to 25 00:01:09,319 --> 00:01:12,440 Speaker 2: prove to you that we will have lower attrition, higher performance, 26 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:15,800 Speaker 2: and our customers will know what we're doing for our people, 27 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:17,399 Speaker 2: and it will resonate with the brand. 28 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:20,760 Speaker 1: And this is going to be our marketing stretch. Though 29 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:24,440 Speaker 1: Schultz is discussing the benevolence that his company has shown 30 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:28,000 Speaker 1: to its employees, one could argue that Schultz is feeling 31 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:34,520 Speaker 1: a tad underappreciated these days. While in the last five 32 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:38,120 Speaker 1: years the stock price of Starbucks has doubled and in 33 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 1: twenty twenty two, the coffee chain's revenue reached thirty two 34 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:47,040 Speaker 1: billion dollars, the US is experiencing a labor movement resurgence, 35 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:50,720 Speaker 1: with union petitions up more than fifty percent in twenty 36 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:56,560 Speaker 1: twenty two from the previous year. Current Starbucks unionization efforts 37 00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:00,120 Speaker 1: began in twenty twenty one, and the company mounted an 38 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:05,200 Speaker 1: aggressive anti union campaign in response. As a result, a 39 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:10,040 Speaker 1: federal judge found Starbucks engaged in quote egregious and widespread 40 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:14,040 Speaker 1: misconduct unquote, and the National Labor Relations Board found the 41 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:18,400 Speaker 1: company violated federal labor law one thousand, three hundred times 42 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:23,120 Speaker 1: under Schultz's watch. Schultz was even called to testify before 43 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:27,440 Speaker 1: Congress over the union busting allegations, and ended up stepping 44 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 1: down from his position early. My guest today is a 45 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:36,000 Speaker 1: Starbucks Workers United organizer and an employee of one of 46 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:39,080 Speaker 1: the first Starbucks in the country that filed for a 47 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:44,160 Speaker 1: union election, Gianna Reeve. Since Reeve and her colleague's initial 48 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 1: organizing efforts in Buffalo, three hundred and twenty eight stores 49 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:52,440 Speaker 1: in thirty nine states have voted to unionize, and more 50 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:55,960 Speaker 1: elections are under way. I wanted to know how Reeve's 51 00:02:56,040 --> 00:02:58,679 Speaker 1: journey with the coffee chain began. 52 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:05,160 Speaker 3: Working at Starbucks in September to October of twenty twenty. 53 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:08,360 Speaker 3: I started at a Tim Horton's. As you know, Buffalo 54 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:10,440 Speaker 3: born and bred that I am. You always started like 55 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,320 Speaker 3: a Tim Hortons or somewhere like that, and I didn't 56 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 3: really enjoy the job. I felt like it was a 57 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:20,760 Speaker 3: series of management overstepping bounds. They were a franchise location, 58 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:24,600 Speaker 3: so I was looking for something better, and what looked 59 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:26,080 Speaker 3: better was Starbucks. 60 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:28,440 Speaker 1: Why did you want to go to Starbucks? Did you 61 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:31,080 Speaker 1: think that this was a good place to work? Do 62 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 1: you have a sense of it just was a quick opportunity. 63 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:37,040 Speaker 1: They were hiring why did you end up there? Specifically, 64 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: from what. 65 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:41,280 Speaker 3: I knew about Starbucks being a consumer first before a 66 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:46,120 Speaker 3: prospective employee, I thought it sounded amazing. I looked at 67 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:48,880 Speaker 3: the benefits. I looked at the way they treated their 68 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 3: queer employees. I looked at the way that they wanted 69 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:55,120 Speaker 3: to connect with customers, and when, wow, this is this 70 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:59,040 Speaker 3: is a company that really values human connection. That's something 71 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:02,520 Speaker 3: that I'm missing working at Tim Horton's that I would 72 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:06,040 Speaker 3: really like to have. While I'm working a coffee job, 73 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:09,680 Speaker 3: I had a bit of rose colored glasses on going 74 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:13,280 Speaker 3: in that were slowly taken off over time. But that 75 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:16,040 Speaker 3: was really the thing that brought me to Starbucks, was 76 00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:17,680 Speaker 3: that value on humanity. 77 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:21,640 Speaker 1: Now, when you get there, how soon do you begin 78 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:24,960 Speaker 1: to sense that there's changes that need to be made 79 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:28,400 Speaker 1: In your estimation? Was everybody like minded about this or 80 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:31,000 Speaker 1: did you have to open people's eyes? What was the 81 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:34,039 Speaker 1: dawning of we have real problems here that can only 82 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:35,320 Speaker 1: be addressed by unionization. 83 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:39,039 Speaker 3: Well that's a very loaded question in the sense that 84 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:41,480 Speaker 3: I think each Starbucks brist Dom I tell you a 85 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:43,760 Speaker 3: different story, but I can tell you mine, and that 86 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:46,200 Speaker 3: my store location was one of the first three to organize, 87 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:52,320 Speaker 3: and it started for folks even before they were at 88 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:55,040 Speaker 3: the location they were at. So my location was fairly 89 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 3: new at the start of the union drive in Starbucks, 90 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:00,040 Speaker 3: we were maybe a year old. At that point. A 91 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:03,080 Speaker 3: lot of us came from other locations, and through our 92 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:05,560 Speaker 3: experiences at those other locations, we were starting to just 93 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:08,800 Speaker 3: become exhausted. We'd go through the right channels for things 94 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:13,040 Speaker 3: like understaffing, harassment, trying to uphold COVID policy because we 95 00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:15,880 Speaker 3: were tasked with being the people to say, hey, like, 96 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:17,840 Speaker 3: you have to keep your mask on, and people would 97 00:05:17,839 --> 00:05:21,159 Speaker 3: get aggressive, people would get violent about that. We know 98 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:24,760 Speaker 3: how people feel about that. So we weren't experiencing support 99 00:05:24,839 --> 00:05:27,360 Speaker 3: and we weren't getting that protection that we needed from 100 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:32,160 Speaker 3: management and from upper corporate levels, and it was wearing 101 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:34,560 Speaker 3: down on everyone in different ways. 102 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:37,360 Speaker 1: So in a sense, the genesis of this, the fuse 103 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:40,280 Speaker 1: that led this, was related to COVID and COVID policies 104 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:40,880 Speaker 1: in the store. 105 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:42,800 Speaker 3: I think for a lot of people it was a 106 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:44,640 Speaker 3: bit of a turning point in looking at the company 107 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:47,919 Speaker 3: in a different way. But also even before that, the 108 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:53,520 Speaker 3: earliest seeds of Starbucks Workers United movement came from another 109 00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:58,040 Speaker 3: coffee chain in Buffalo, New York, Spot Coffee Organizing, and 110 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:01,400 Speaker 3: through them, one of our works workers at the first 111 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:05,880 Speaker 3: three locations named Lexi Rizzo, contacted Workers United and said 112 00:06:05,960 --> 00:06:07,680 Speaker 3: that this is something that we need to do. This 113 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:10,400 Speaker 3: needs to happen. COVID kind of put that on pause 114 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:13,120 Speaker 3: for a bit, but even though it put it on pause, 115 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:16,600 Speaker 3: it also started to stoke those flames. It really brought 116 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:20,600 Speaker 3: the issues that were already there and existed within Starbucks 117 00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:22,560 Speaker 3: to the forefront of people's. 118 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:23,880 Speaker 1: Minds, such as. 119 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:29,000 Speaker 3: Understaffing, a lack of seniority benefits, benefits that partners have 120 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:31,960 Speaker 3: a hard time accessing. I know more partners on Medicaid 121 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:35,320 Speaker 3: than I know being on these Starbucks health insurance plans 122 00:06:35,839 --> 00:06:38,120 Speaker 3: simply because they cannot afford them. They don't have the 123 00:06:38,279 --> 00:06:44,800 Speaker 3: hours available to work. Starbucks often likes to parade their 124 00:06:44,839 --> 00:06:47,400 Speaker 3: benefits being available for part time workers as well, but 125 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:50,200 Speaker 3: we're starting to see, and we have been seeing partners 126 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:53,520 Speaker 3: becoming so decreased in hours that they're not hitting that 127 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:56,279 Speaker 3: twenty hour a week limit that you need in order 128 00:06:56,320 --> 00:06:58,320 Speaker 3: to be able to be eligible for those benefits. 129 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:00,640 Speaker 1: So they're deliberately scheduling it that way. 130 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:04,680 Speaker 3: Yes, it's very difficult to be excited about benefits that 131 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:08,440 Speaker 3: you can't obtain, and it's even more frustrating when it 132 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:11,760 Speaker 3: feels like the company isn't listening to you. And one 133 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:13,520 Speaker 3: of the best ways to get a company to listen 134 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:15,800 Speaker 3: to you is to come together with your fellow co 135 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:19,000 Speaker 3: workers and say, no, you need to listen to us. 136 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:21,200 Speaker 1: Now, when you say partners, what do you mean by partners? 137 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:26,240 Speaker 3: Partners is the term that Starbucks uses to describe their employees. 138 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:29,040 Speaker 3: So we are all considered partners by Starbucks. 139 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:30,760 Speaker 1: Are you still working at Starbucks now? 140 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:32,920 Speaker 3: I am still working at Starbucks now? 141 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:37,280 Speaker 1: Yeah? What's that like? Give us a description of So 142 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:40,600 Speaker 1: you're at a Starbucks location. This one location, which the 143 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:43,360 Speaker 1: one you were at is the Camp Road Starbucks. Correct, 144 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:46,160 Speaker 1: you're still there now at the Camp Road Starbucks. Using 145 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:47,840 Speaker 1: just that as an example, I'm not going to assume 146 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:50,720 Speaker 1: they're all identical, but maybe they are. How does the 147 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:53,600 Speaker 1: management breakdown? This is someone who's title, who runs the show, 148 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:55,240 Speaker 1: Who's in charge? 149 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:58,040 Speaker 3: If you asked Starbucks that it would be the managers. 150 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:00,120 Speaker 3: If you asked any other worker at Starbucks that they 151 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:03,800 Speaker 3: would probably say the shift supervisors. Why because shift supervisors 152 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:07,240 Speaker 3: are the day to day sort of operations. The manager 153 00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:10,120 Speaker 3: comes and goes, the manager writes the schedule, but the 154 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:12,400 Speaker 3: shift supervisor is going to be the one that baristas 155 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:15,560 Speaker 3: are in the most contact with. If you're coming into work, 156 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:18,040 Speaker 3: if you're calling in you're like, hey, I'm going to 157 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:21,000 Speaker 3: be late, that's going to be your shift supervisor. If 158 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:22,640 Speaker 3: you don't know where you're going to be on the 159 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:25,760 Speaker 3: floor for the day, if it's going to be drive through, 160 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:27,760 Speaker 3: or you're going to be on the espresso bar, if 161 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:29,760 Speaker 3: you're going to be making the cold drinks, that's the 162 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:33,679 Speaker 3: shift supervisor deciding that. So a lot of your day 163 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:37,560 Speaker 3: to day operations are being overseen by the shift supervisors. 164 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:41,480 Speaker 1: So the manager, are they off managing multiple locations? Do 165 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:43,680 Speaker 1: they have them taking a little tour of the area, 166 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:47,439 Speaker 1: because as everybody knows, Starbucks is kind of ubiquitous. Are 167 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:49,480 Speaker 1: they going to different locations there? In Buffalo? 168 00:08:50,040 --> 00:08:54,000 Speaker 3: Typically, now that the union busting heat has died down, 169 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:57,560 Speaker 3: it's typically one manager per location, But at one point, 170 00:08:57,640 --> 00:08:59,760 Speaker 3: at the peak of the union busting and at the 171 00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:03,240 Speaker 3: height of the first three store locations union elections, there 172 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:08,000 Speaker 3: would be sometimes five six, seven what Starbucks would call 173 00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:11,840 Speaker 3: support managers on the floor that were there to supposedly 174 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:15,120 Speaker 3: help the Buffalo district because we were struggling so hard 175 00:09:15,559 --> 00:09:18,000 Speaker 3: and they just missed the more completely with us. They 176 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:23,720 Speaker 3: were so apologetic, but really they were essentially spies. I 177 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:27,079 Speaker 3: couldn't go anywhere in my store location without there being 178 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:29,760 Speaker 3: one of these support managers breathing down my neck. I 179 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:33,200 Speaker 3: couldn't talk on the headsets at work and have organizing 180 00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:37,120 Speaker 3: conversations without a manager wearing a headset and listening in 181 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:38,120 Speaker 3: at all times. 182 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:39,400 Speaker 1: Right out in the open. They did it right in 183 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:39,839 Speaker 1: front of. 184 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:40,800 Speaker 3: You, right right now. 185 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:43,800 Speaker 1: Your phone conversation is about organizing, right in front of you. 186 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:47,000 Speaker 3: Yes, it was never hidden as a secret that that's 187 00:09:47,679 --> 00:09:48,280 Speaker 3: their motive. 188 00:09:48,720 --> 00:09:52,520 Speaker 1: How did you feel about interacting with management? I when 189 00:09:52,559 --> 00:09:55,760 Speaker 1: you say that the actual managers, as supposed to the 190 00:09:55,760 --> 00:09:59,400 Speaker 1: shift supervisors come and go, what was your relationship black 191 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:01,520 Speaker 1: with these people who were monitoring your phone calls? 192 00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:05,199 Speaker 3: So the relationship with management at the time of the 193 00:10:05,320 --> 00:10:08,240 Speaker 3: union election, I Camp wrote it was a lot of 194 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:11,960 Speaker 3: me trying to be as professional and employing my customer 195 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:14,800 Speaker 3: service voice on them as much as I was on customers. Really, 196 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:18,440 Speaker 3: I wanted to make sure that they knew that I 197 00:10:18,559 --> 00:10:22,040 Speaker 3: wasn't just coming in to make trouble, because it seemed 198 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:25,160 Speaker 3: to be like that was the feeling we were getting 199 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:29,280 Speaker 3: about how they were depicting union organizers, and I wanted 200 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:31,640 Speaker 3: them to know that, no, I've got a clean record, 201 00:10:31,679 --> 00:10:34,320 Speaker 3: I'm a model employee. I'm doing this because I love 202 00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:37,280 Speaker 3: my partners and I want them to have the best 203 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:40,040 Speaker 3: experience at work as possible. I want this company to 204 00:10:40,080 --> 00:10:43,680 Speaker 3: be what it says it's going to be. So I 205 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:49,679 Speaker 3: thought the best way to exhibit that was to remain optimistic, 206 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:52,240 Speaker 3: remain nice. 207 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:54,120 Speaker 1: And don't take the bait. Don't let them provoke back 208 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:56,400 Speaker 1: to something where you're going to give them grounds to 209 00:10:56,520 --> 00:11:00,160 Speaker 1: terminate right now. I mean, I go to Starbucks, period, 210 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:02,520 Speaker 1: and there's a lot more kind of owner operated places 211 00:11:02,559 --> 00:11:06,120 Speaker 1: I go to in my neighborhood, smaller coffee shops and 212 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:09,120 Speaker 1: so forth. But I mean, I'm I'm a Starbucks person. 213 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:10,880 Speaker 1: I like their products. I have what I order at 214 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:14,560 Speaker 1: Starbucks that I like. And one of the last times 215 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:17,520 Speaker 1: that I was out of Starbucks was up in Vermont. 216 00:11:17,600 --> 00:11:19,680 Speaker 1: We were there and I couldn't believe the pace, and 217 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:22,560 Speaker 1: I couldn't believe the intensity, and I couldn't believe the 218 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:24,839 Speaker 1: look on the faces of the women and the men 219 00:11:24,880 --> 00:11:28,079 Speaker 1: that were working there as they were like spinning, pivoting, 220 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:32,520 Speaker 1: whipping and hitting the button to have the water shoot 221 00:11:32,559 --> 00:11:34,280 Speaker 1: the other thing to clean it and put more milk 222 00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:37,240 Speaker 1: in it, and they're trying to make these drinks in 223 00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:41,120 Speaker 1: this balletic way. But it was more it was like 224 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:44,240 Speaker 1: some primitive army coming down a mountaintop to kill you, you know. 225 00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:47,040 Speaker 1: I mean they were like so the amount of the 226 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:49,680 Speaker 1: heaving and breathing that was going on from these people. 227 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:52,520 Speaker 1: They were working their asses off, you know, they were 228 00:11:52,559 --> 00:11:55,680 Speaker 1: working their asses off. There's a certain type of person 229 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:58,880 Speaker 1: that they hire who is just like a super hard 230 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:02,040 Speaker 1: working person. And those people that come there who don't 231 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:05,599 Speaker 1: get it, who don't get the Starbucks program of you 232 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:07,880 Speaker 1: got to be quick and you've got to be you know, 233 00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:11,440 Speaker 1: really fast moving, they don't make the cut. Is that 234 00:12:11,640 --> 00:12:12,520 Speaker 1: kind of how it works? 235 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:16,160 Speaker 3: Yeah, they they don't last too long. You have to 236 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:18,040 Speaker 3: move at a certain kind of pace like that, and 237 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:19,880 Speaker 3: it's kind of like learning a dance how you said, 238 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:22,320 Speaker 3: it's it is a bit ballatic and that you gotta 239 00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:26,240 Speaker 3: move around, you gotta it's almost like a part dance, 240 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:29,320 Speaker 3: part coffee shop, part working in a kitchen, because sometimes 241 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:33,160 Speaker 3: you'll be like, oh, behind hot, behind corner, going around 242 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:35,760 Speaker 3: because if not, you're going to just have a pile 243 00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:39,880 Speaker 3: of baristas on the floor covered in sugar syrup and espresso, 244 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:41,439 Speaker 3: wondering what the hell happened. 245 00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:44,760 Speaker 1: And you think also that there's people who I have 246 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:47,600 Speaker 1: this image of people who, like day one, within a 247 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:50,160 Speaker 1: couple of hours, there's a certain type of person who's 248 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:52,440 Speaker 1: like in the bathroom crying and they're like, what have 249 00:12:52,520 --> 00:12:54,720 Speaker 1: I gotten myself into? I got to get out of here. 250 00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:56,560 Speaker 1: You know, this isn't for me. It's too fast. 251 00:12:57,160 --> 00:12:59,600 Speaker 3: It definitely exists. It's a bit of a culture shock, 252 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:03,800 Speaker 3: that sort of feeling. It's I hate to say it. 253 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:07,680 Speaker 3: Starbucks now sort of feels like the fast food of 254 00:13:07,679 --> 00:13:09,640 Speaker 3: coffee in a lot of ways because of that, like 255 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:15,200 Speaker 3: increased demand for breakneck speeds and for pushing out as 256 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:18,600 Speaker 3: much coffee as possible. The way that we earn more 257 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:21,040 Speaker 3: labor hours to have more people on the floor at 258 00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:24,680 Speaker 3: any point in time is based on how many customers 259 00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:27,080 Speaker 3: we get in and out of our stores or in 260 00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:29,040 Speaker 3: and out of the drive through at any point. So 261 00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:33,880 Speaker 3: a lot of the times you'll hear barista's saying, you know, hey, manager, 262 00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:37,040 Speaker 3: so and so, we really need more people on Saturday. 263 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:41,000 Speaker 3: Saturday mornings are just brutal. Can we get one more person? 264 00:13:41,559 --> 00:13:44,920 Speaker 3: And they'll come back and say, unfortunately, the labor doesn't 265 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:46,839 Speaker 3: cut it. You know, we don't have the time, we 266 00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:48,720 Speaker 3: don't have the people. We need to work on getting 267 00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:50,440 Speaker 3: some more people out of our drive through and then 268 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:52,880 Speaker 3: we could see if that ups our labor budget to 269 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:55,480 Speaker 3: have more people on the floor. So it's it's this 270 00:13:55,559 --> 00:13:59,040 Speaker 3: constant cycle of work harder, go faster, and maybe you'll 271 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:01,520 Speaker 3: have a little bit of put on you if they 272 00:14:01,559 --> 00:14:03,560 Speaker 3: have another person to the floor, But that's a really 273 00:14:03,559 --> 00:14:04,200 Speaker 3: big if. 274 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:08,120 Speaker 1: Well, Now, other than the staffing issues when you were 275 00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:10,760 Speaker 1: at Starbucks initially, what did you begin to notice were 276 00:14:10,760 --> 00:14:13,200 Speaker 1: some other problems? In other words, what were the problems 277 00:14:13,240 --> 00:14:15,840 Speaker 1: that were substantial enough that guided you to want to 278 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:17,600 Speaker 1: start a union to address them? 279 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:22,560 Speaker 3: For me, it was a lack of accountability for management, 280 00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:25,720 Speaker 3: a lack of accountability through the company as a whole. 281 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:28,680 Speaker 3: Later on, as I began to learn more and more things, 282 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:33,040 Speaker 3: but really it came down to the actions of my manager. 283 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:35,640 Speaker 3: A lot of the time, he's no longer with the company, 284 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:39,920 Speaker 3: but it was right when I started at Camp Road. 285 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:44,520 Speaker 3: I transferred from another location in Buffalo from McKinley location 286 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:47,960 Speaker 3: and came to Camp Road as it opened up, and 287 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:50,600 Speaker 3: we had a lot of new hires coming in. They 288 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:54,240 Speaker 3: were bright, prospective people, and I was really excited to 289 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:57,680 Speaker 3: work with them. And as we know, there is the 290 00:14:57,680 --> 00:15:00,560 Speaker 3: stereotype of the gay barista, and I think so Starbucks 291 00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:04,480 Speaker 3: kind of loves it because we just they flock. We 292 00:15:04,600 --> 00:15:07,360 Speaker 3: flocked to Starbucks to work because it's seen as a 293 00:15:07,360 --> 00:15:10,520 Speaker 3: progressively valued company and it seems like a safe place 294 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:14,000 Speaker 3: to work that you might not get otherwise. So we 295 00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:17,760 Speaker 3: had a lot of openly gay partners, openly trans partners 296 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:20,840 Speaker 3: that came into my store to work, and they were 297 00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:24,120 Speaker 3: amazing people. I love talking to them, I love their 298 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:27,480 Speaker 3: work ethic. They were going to be great. I remember 299 00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:30,360 Speaker 3: thinking to myself, these are going to be amazing people 300 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:32,320 Speaker 3: on the floor. Once they get those drinks down, they 301 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:36,920 Speaker 3: are going to do amazing stuff. And as time went on, 302 00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:39,760 Speaker 3: over a period of two or three months at my location, 303 00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:43,520 Speaker 3: I saw all of them forced out in one way 304 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:46,640 Speaker 3: or another. One by one. Partners were being outed on 305 00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:50,000 Speaker 3: the floor by management where I would have no idea 306 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:52,400 Speaker 3: that someone was trans, or I wouldn't know their gender 307 00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:56,640 Speaker 3: identity because what's at my business, and they would go 308 00:15:56,680 --> 00:15:59,520 Speaker 3: and say it out right. There was a partner at 309 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:02,280 Speaker 3: my location and she didn't have access to a vehicle. 310 00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:05,920 Speaker 3: Starbucks has benefits for ride share and stuff, but it's 311 00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:08,320 Speaker 3: not comprehensive coverage to gets you to work from nine 312 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:11,200 Speaker 3: to five, so she would rely on rides from friends. 313 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:13,640 Speaker 3: But she was quick, she was smart. I thought if 314 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:16,680 Speaker 3: anyone was going to really excel, it was going to 315 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:20,160 Speaker 3: be her. And I came into work one day expecting 316 00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:23,440 Speaker 3: to see her on my shift and asked my fellowship supervisors, like, Hey, 317 00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:26,520 Speaker 3: why isn't she in? And they told me that my 318 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:30,360 Speaker 3: manager had fired her, And that just left me a 319 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:32,040 Speaker 3: little bit flabbergasted. I was like, what do you mean 320 00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:35,640 Speaker 3: he fired her? She was doing great. I'm not understanding. 321 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:38,760 Speaker 3: And the reason he fired her was because she was 322 00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:42,360 Speaker 3: a couple minutes lately, two to five minutes late coming 323 00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:46,480 Speaker 3: into her shift, despite him knowing that she relies on 324 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:51,960 Speaker 3: other folks to get rides, that she was trying her best. 325 00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:55,720 Speaker 3: She was doing amazing, and I've seen people late far 326 00:16:55,800 --> 00:16:59,200 Speaker 3: more far more often than this scenario. And she was 327 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:03,240 Speaker 3: just gone. And she was so excited to use the 328 00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:06,320 Speaker 3: healthcare benefits that Starbucks re fights because it's gender inclusive healthcare, 329 00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:10,040 Speaker 3: so that she could actually begin hormone replacement therapy, she 330 00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:14,040 Speaker 3: could look into surgery if she so wished, and she 331 00:17:14,320 --> 00:17:17,399 Speaker 3: was just so optimistic, and she was so happy to 332 00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:19,720 Speaker 3: be working for Starbucks. And it was just gone in 333 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:24,359 Speaker 3: a snap. And I saw this same trend repeat over 334 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:28,480 Speaker 3: and over again, and I just didn't know what to do. 335 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:32,639 Speaker 3: I was angry. I was frustrated because this isn't what 336 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:35,199 Speaker 3: this isn't what I signed up for, This isn't what 337 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:37,800 Speaker 3: I expected this to be like. But I didn't know 338 00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:40,600 Speaker 3: how to change it. So I was just sort of 339 00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:42,040 Speaker 3: left frustrated. 340 00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:44,440 Speaker 1: And you think that they targeted her because she was. 341 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:46,920 Speaker 3: Trans I do think so. I do think my manager 342 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:49,520 Speaker 3: targeted her because she was transit. 343 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:53,040 Speaker 1: Other than the firing itself, he was the one that 344 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:57,280 Speaker 1: made comments in front of other people publicly about her gender. Yes, 345 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:01,600 Speaker 1: when you say that, I mean regardless of one's view 346 00:18:02,359 --> 00:18:06,600 Speaker 1: of transgenderism and companies being asked to pay for hormone 347 00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:09,359 Speaker 1: injections and surgeries and so forth, like that. I mean, 348 00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:11,879 Speaker 1: people are entitled to a certain amount of privacy and 349 00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:15,120 Speaker 1: dignity in the workplace. How did everybody else react? Because 350 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:17,560 Speaker 1: what I'm getting to is, when did the moment come 351 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:21,840 Speaker 1: for the unionization thing where it dawns on you and 352 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:24,160 Speaker 1: you start to enlist people. Or was there a group 353 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:26,119 Speaker 1: think where there were a bunch of people who you 354 00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:27,800 Speaker 1: were all talking to each other going this has got 355 00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:28,520 Speaker 1: to change. 356 00:18:29,040 --> 00:18:30,960 Speaker 3: Yeah, I wish I had an easy answer in the 357 00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:32,639 Speaker 3: sense that there was that sort of like click and 358 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:35,960 Speaker 3: boom moment. For me, it was a lot of situations 359 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:40,840 Speaker 3: like this where partners privacy wasn't being respected, where workers 360 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:43,000 Speaker 3: that have been in a company for seventeen years were 361 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:45,240 Speaker 3: making within a dollar what I was making coming in 362 00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:49,440 Speaker 3: at two years. So at that point when the unionization 363 00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:53,760 Speaker 3: effort kicked off, I was already ready to make something happen. 364 00:18:53,840 --> 00:18:56,879 Speaker 3: I wanted change. I just didn't know that options like 365 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:01,000 Speaker 3: unionization existed for a Starbucks location until one of my 366 00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:04,919 Speaker 3: fellow co workers texted me and said, Hey, can we 367 00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:08,119 Speaker 3: talk about work stuff? But we can't do it at work? 368 00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:12,760 Speaker 3: And I was a little bit confused. It's like, what 369 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:15,600 Speaker 3: could we possibly need to talk about work? Outside of work, 370 00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:19,000 Speaker 3: I'm not following, and he said, please, like, can you 371 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:22,000 Speaker 3: meet me at Spot Coffee. I had no idea that 372 00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:25,440 Speaker 3: I would walk into Spot Coffee and be asked how 373 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:29,960 Speaker 3: I felt about unionizing Starbucks. That one trip to a 374 00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:33,000 Speaker 3: coffee shop changed my life. 375 00:19:34,560 --> 00:19:40,080 Speaker 1: Activist Gianna Reeve. If you appreciate conversations about the labor movement, 376 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:44,119 Speaker 1: check out my episode with former California assembly Person and 377 00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:47,600 Speaker 1: head of the California Labor Federation Lorena Gonzalez. 378 00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:51,080 Speaker 4: My favorite part of the story is having to go 379 00:19:51,119 --> 00:19:54,680 Speaker 4: to then Governor Jerry Brown. I mean, I'm like, oh God, 380 00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:57,080 Speaker 4: I got to talk to him about cheerleaders. We were 381 00:19:57,080 --> 00:19:59,199 Speaker 4: at a dinner together and I said, Governor, when you 382 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:00,840 Speaker 4: have a chance on and talk about this bill I'm 383 00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:04,320 Speaker 4: working on. It has to do with professional cheerleaders. And 384 00:20:04,359 --> 00:20:07,040 Speaker 4: he said I was a cheerleader, and I was like. 385 00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:07,919 Speaker 3: Are you kidding me? 386 00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:09,159 Speaker 4: I've hearing this. 387 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:09,920 Speaker 1: Luck would have it. 388 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:12,560 Speaker 4: He was a cheerleader in college or high school. And 389 00:20:12,600 --> 00:20:14,399 Speaker 4: so I was like, oh, I think I'm going to 390 00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:15,000 Speaker 4: get this one. 391 00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:15,640 Speaker 3: But we did. 392 00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:16,560 Speaker 4: I'm very proud of that. 393 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:22,040 Speaker 1: To hear more of my conversation with Lorena Gonzalez, go 394 00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:26,320 Speaker 1: to Here's the Thing dot org. After the break, Gianna 395 00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:29,480 Speaker 1: Reeve shares some of the conditions that led to the 396 00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:44,280 Speaker 1: unionizing effort at Starbucks. I'm Alec Baldwin, and you were 397 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:49,159 Speaker 1: listening to Here's the Thing union organizer. Gianna Reeve was 398 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:52,719 Speaker 1: a shift supervisor at the Camp Road Starbucks in the 399 00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:56,640 Speaker 1: Buffalo area of upstate New York when her location filed 400 00:20:56,640 --> 00:21:00,760 Speaker 1: the petition to unionize in twenty twenty one. A simple 401 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:03,639 Speaker 1: meeting with one of her co workers would change the 402 00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:05,919 Speaker 1: course of Gianna's life. 403 00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:10,760 Speaker 3: He told me about the first union meeting that was 404 00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:14,040 Speaker 3: going to have partners from all the different locations in 405 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:17,480 Speaker 3: Buffalo come together and talk and see if this was 406 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:21,320 Speaker 3: a movement with legs basically, so going to this meeting. 407 00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:25,000 Speaker 3: Before this, I was sort of entrenched in Camp Road 408 00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:28,119 Speaker 3: in that I didn't really go to other store locations. 409 00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:30,520 Speaker 3: I didn't really pick up shifts there. I was really 410 00:21:30,520 --> 00:21:32,560 Speaker 3: focused on just doing my job at Camp Road and 411 00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:36,080 Speaker 3: doing it well, and I didn't have a lot of 412 00:21:36,119 --> 00:21:39,920 Speaker 3: conversations with workers outside of my store. So going into 413 00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:42,959 Speaker 3: this meeting and hearing a lot of the same problems 414 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:46,760 Speaker 3: existing at these other store locations in Buffalo that I 415 00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:49,520 Speaker 3: think is what I would describe as like that clique 416 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:52,000 Speaker 3: for me, that this isn't just a camp road issue. 417 00:21:52,520 --> 00:21:56,040 Speaker 3: This is a Starbucks issue, and this needs to be addressed. 418 00:21:56,280 --> 00:21:59,600 Speaker 3: When you have a half dozen baristas in a circle 419 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:01,600 Speaker 3: all time talking to each other and going wait, wait, 420 00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:04,840 Speaker 3: your store has wasps too, Yeah, my partner just got 421 00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:06,919 Speaker 3: sent to the er because she was stung on the floor, 422 00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:10,159 Speaker 3: and conversations like that of like, oh did they take 423 00:22:10,200 --> 00:22:12,920 Speaker 3: away your non slip floor mats? My store doesn't even 424 00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:15,520 Speaker 3: have non slip formats. My store has carpet in the 425 00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:19,520 Speaker 3: back room, and just continuous stories just bouncing off each 426 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:22,040 Speaker 3: other of all of these things that haven't been addressed 427 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:26,919 Speaker 3: over the years they've been at Starbucks. It was just 428 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:29,960 Speaker 3: mind boggling how similar our stories were. 429 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:33,040 Speaker 1: So when you mentioned the carpeting versus the non slip thing, 430 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:35,000 Speaker 1: I mean, I only want to focus on that to say, 431 00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:38,520 Speaker 1: so there were places, there were Starbucks that were making 432 00:22:38,560 --> 00:22:41,800 Speaker 1: the necessary changes to protect their customers and their workers 433 00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:46,240 Speaker 1: and some that weren't. And not was every Starbucks derelict 434 00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:49,600 Speaker 1: than these kinds of modifications, or were some better than others? 435 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:52,440 Speaker 3: Some We're definitely better than others. A lot of store 436 00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:55,439 Speaker 3: locations are older and that they haven't had remodels or 437 00:22:56,080 --> 00:22:58,760 Speaker 3: improvements in years. It's kind of like if you had 438 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:02,080 Speaker 3: ten different things and you said pick three or four 439 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:05,359 Speaker 3: out of these ten. I think every Starbucks would be 440 00:23:05,359 --> 00:23:06,960 Speaker 3: able to pick three or four things if I could 441 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:11,920 Speaker 3: sit here and make a list of either structural, safety, employment, 442 00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:15,240 Speaker 3: or labor issues that they're having on the floor, and 443 00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:19,000 Speaker 3: they would be able to do so. For me, it 444 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:22,520 Speaker 3: was seeing a lot of problems with labor cuts, with staffing, 445 00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:27,960 Speaker 3: with wages, with healthkin safety, with management accountability, and for 446 00:23:28,119 --> 00:23:31,119 Speaker 3: others it was something maybe like health and safety in 447 00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:33,480 Speaker 3: the sense that carpeting in the back room is an 448 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:37,200 Speaker 3: absolute no for a food service jomp. I've never heard 449 00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:39,920 Speaker 3: of anything like that before. There was a point when 450 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:44,439 Speaker 3: management had come in over one hundred corporate officials that 451 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:48,479 Speaker 3: come into Buffalo and they were asking workers, you know, 452 00:23:48,480 --> 00:23:50,440 Speaker 3: what can we do to make things better for you here? 453 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:53,120 Speaker 3: We really dropped the ball on Buffalo what can we do? 454 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:57,200 Speaker 3: And for Camp Road, a lot of it was our floors. 455 00:23:57,240 --> 00:23:59,000 Speaker 3: We were a brand new store. They weren't made to 456 00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:02,520 Speaker 3: handle the salt that was coming in from the snow, 457 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:05,639 Speaker 3: and they were wearing down. We had our grout was 458 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:09,000 Speaker 3: just being eaten away, and that creates problems with fruitflies. 459 00:24:09,640 --> 00:24:13,080 Speaker 3: So our store was just covered, covered and fruit flies. 460 00:24:13,119 --> 00:24:14,679 Speaker 3: It was disgusting. No one wanted to work like that, 461 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:16,679 Speaker 3: No one wanted to serve food and drink like that. 462 00:24:17,359 --> 00:24:18,240 Speaker 1: So interesting. 463 00:24:18,440 --> 00:24:21,600 Speaker 3: At some point management said we got you, no worries, 464 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:24,000 Speaker 3: We'll take care of this, and they had a crew 465 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:26,639 Speaker 3: come in after clothes in the in the middle of 466 00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:30,480 Speaker 3: the night and try and refinish our floors. What they 467 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:33,760 Speaker 3: did was they sanded away the ceilant on the tile 468 00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:38,800 Speaker 3: and made it porous. They essentially ruined our stores floor tiling, 469 00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:43,199 Speaker 3: and it was just the problem became even worse. It 470 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:46,320 Speaker 3: was exacerbated by this action. And to me that really 471 00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:49,040 Speaker 3: it sounds funny to say. It's a little bit of 472 00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:54,399 Speaker 3: an overall theme with Starbucks' attempts at either helping in 473 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:58,840 Speaker 3: quotations or union busting and saying, Okay, we're here, we're listening, 474 00:24:59,400 --> 00:24:59,800 Speaker 3: making the. 475 00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:02,880 Speaker 1: Wor workspace healthier for the workers and the customers. 476 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:05,240 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, let's make it healthier for you. What can 477 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:07,399 Speaker 3: we do to make it healthy and then us saying 478 00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:10,359 Speaker 3: something and then being like hurt, you got it, but 479 00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:13,960 Speaker 3: then taking actions that don't inherently help the problem or 480 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:15,399 Speaker 3: they make the problem worse. 481 00:25:16,040 --> 00:25:18,640 Speaker 1: Do you find that that's a theme that the company 482 00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:24,080 Speaker 1: didn't rely enough on the workforce to glean information what 483 00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:25,760 Speaker 1: was best for those locations. 484 00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:29,680 Speaker 3: Absolutely, I mean everything I'm talking about and all of 485 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:32,120 Speaker 3: these problems that are existing in my store and now 486 00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:35,080 Speaker 3: nationally on this level we're talking about, all of this 487 00:25:35,119 --> 00:25:36,919 Speaker 3: could have been solved by a seat at the table 488 00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:41,959 Speaker 3: on Starbucks's board of directors. They have two honorary empty seats. 489 00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:45,240 Speaker 3: One is for I believe customers and the other is 490 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:48,040 Speaker 3: for all of the barife dosen' workers with the company. 491 00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:49,679 Speaker 1: They've never filled those seats. 492 00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:52,720 Speaker 3: Yes, why aren't those seats filled? Because if those seats 493 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:55,159 Speaker 3: were filled, I think this company could be so much better. 494 00:25:55,680 --> 00:26:00,320 Speaker 3: Starbucks workers want this company to be that human, worker 495 00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:04,479 Speaker 3: driven company that wants to spark change, positive change. We 496 00:26:04,520 --> 00:26:06,320 Speaker 3: want to see that happen. That's why we're all here, 497 00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:09,160 Speaker 3: That's why we sort of were interested in the company 498 00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:10,600 Speaker 3: in the first place. That's why we applied. 499 00:26:11,119 --> 00:26:13,520 Speaker 1: When does the word strike, When does the word union? 500 00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:16,720 Speaker 1: When does that enter the conversation and the person you 501 00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:18,479 Speaker 1: were with at the other coffee shop was that they 502 00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:20,920 Speaker 1: need to talk to you about work outside of work. 503 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:22,119 Speaker 1: Where does it go from there? 504 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:26,000 Speaker 3: That goes into that first meeting we had with other 505 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:29,600 Speaker 3: Starbuck partners from other locations in Buffalo, not just from 506 00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:31,960 Speaker 3: the first three but from all of them, and then 507 00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:35,399 Speaker 3: very rapidly after that, where right now the timeline is 508 00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:42,760 Speaker 3: August of twenty twenty one, and we're going forward and 509 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:45,679 Speaker 3: we're saying, yeah, we need this to happen. So the 510 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:48,280 Speaker 3: next step in the organizing process is going to be 511 00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:51,639 Speaker 3: signing union cards and talking to each worker on the 512 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:54,719 Speaker 3: floor through one on one conversations. And there is this 513 00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:58,760 Speaker 3: beautiful one week window where we could talk without restriction, 514 00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:01,720 Speaker 3: and we could just discuss, and we could brainstorm, and 515 00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:03,959 Speaker 3: we could imagine what this company could look like if 516 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:06,679 Speaker 3: all of our voices were put into it, and we 517 00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:12,440 Speaker 3: could really make a difference. So we got I believe 518 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:16,480 Speaker 3: between sixty six and seventy percent cards signed at Camp 519 00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:19,560 Speaker 3: Road in a matter of a couple of days, and 520 00:27:20,119 --> 00:27:23,359 Speaker 3: we filed for union election. So there was that great 521 00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:26,640 Speaker 3: one week window where a lot of movement was happening, 522 00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:28,560 Speaker 3: a lot of progress, We had a lot of momentum, 523 00:27:29,119 --> 00:27:31,960 Speaker 3: and then at the end of that week window it 524 00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:36,120 Speaker 3: started to shift. We put out a letter from all 525 00:27:36,119 --> 00:27:40,320 Speaker 3: of the workers that initially went to the meeting about 526 00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:45,520 Speaker 3: our intent to organize, because it's generally good practice and 527 00:27:45,840 --> 00:27:48,840 Speaker 3: it signifies your attempt to organize to the company so 528 00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:52,960 Speaker 3: that you're protected legally. It's funny, the more public you 529 00:27:53,040 --> 00:27:57,440 Speaker 3: are about your intent to organize, the more protected you are, 530 00:27:57,480 --> 00:27:59,960 Speaker 3: and from a legal standpoint, because the company can't argue 531 00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:03,480 Speaker 3: that they didn't know. It is retaliation if they try 532 00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:07,160 Speaker 3: to terminate you or reprimand you at that point. So 533 00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:10,719 Speaker 3: they got our letter. We had our amazing week, and 534 00:28:10,760 --> 00:28:15,200 Speaker 3: then we started to see people from Starbucks corporate flood 535 00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:19,919 Speaker 3: into Buffalo. I think we've counted over one hundred different 536 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:26,600 Speaker 3: names to do, what to surveil and to intimidate, and 537 00:28:26,680 --> 00:28:28,600 Speaker 3: to influence. 538 00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:30,280 Speaker 1: And to look for grounds to terminate you. 539 00:28:31,040 --> 00:28:32,399 Speaker 3: Yes, right, absolutely. 540 00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:36,360 Speaker 1: How many of the people that were perceived, whether they 541 00:28:36,480 --> 00:28:41,680 Speaker 1: signed any paperwork or whether they were completely fully expressing 542 00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:45,880 Speaker 1: their support of the unionization publicly, How many of your 543 00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:50,360 Speaker 1: fellow workers there were terminated since they commencement of the union. 544 00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:53,760 Speaker 3: Organizing the termination? I can't say exactly a number. They 545 00:28:53,760 --> 00:28:56,920 Speaker 3: did terminate one of our my friend that I met 546 00:28:56,960 --> 00:29:00,240 Speaker 3: in the coffee shop Will. They terminated Will for wearing 547 00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:04,800 Speaker 3: a suicide awareness pin. So prior to the corporate members 548 00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:09,360 Speaker 3: coming into Starbucks Buffalo locations and staying there for months, 549 00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:13,800 Speaker 3: might I add, they had changed Starbucks policy to that 550 00:29:14,520 --> 00:29:19,320 Speaker 3: you can no longer wear non Starbucks affiliated pins unless 551 00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:22,760 Speaker 3: it's a labor pin. This was a direct dig at 552 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:25,800 Speaker 3: us wearing our union pins on the floor, so now 553 00:29:25,800 --> 00:29:29,160 Speaker 3: we were no longer allowed to wear them. Unfortunately, at 554 00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:33,000 Speaker 3: my location, we had a partner passed away by suicide 555 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:37,800 Speaker 3: and we all got these pins. One of our partners 556 00:29:37,800 --> 00:29:39,920 Speaker 3: got these pins that say you are not Alone, and 557 00:29:39,960 --> 00:29:42,240 Speaker 3: it has like the number for the one of the 558 00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:46,040 Speaker 3: suicide foundations on it, and we asked and asked and 559 00:29:46,240 --> 00:29:48,600 Speaker 3: asked if we could wear these on the floor, if 560 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:51,960 Speaker 3: they could just make one exception because we lost someone 561 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:55,680 Speaker 3: that we all loved, And they said, sorry, but no, 562 00:29:56,240 --> 00:29:59,080 Speaker 3: we don't care. We're not You're not going to get 563 00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:02,080 Speaker 3: an exception for this not wearing it, ignorant of the 564 00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:07,120 Speaker 3: fact that even making this policy change was illegal in 565 00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:10,200 Speaker 3: the sense that they cannot change conditions in the store location. 566 00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:12,520 Speaker 3: The rules that exist when you file for union election 567 00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:15,800 Speaker 3: have to be the same throughout the union election. So 568 00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:18,240 Speaker 3: they've made this change and now they've said, we are 569 00:30:18,320 --> 00:30:19,960 Speaker 3: not going to make this exception. 570 00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:21,720 Speaker 1: Can they moved the goal post in order to find 571 00:30:21,760 --> 00:30:22,640 Speaker 1: a way to fire people. 572 00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:26,280 Speaker 3: Absolutely, that was a change of our it's called laboratory conditions. 573 00:30:26,760 --> 00:30:30,640 Speaker 3: That was a change of laboratory conditions. So that shouldn't 574 00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:35,080 Speaker 3: have happened in the first place. And to not display 575 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:38,360 Speaker 3: the empathy that's typically so embedded in the ethos at 576 00:30:38,360 --> 00:30:41,680 Speaker 3: this company, and saying, why can we at least wear 577 00:30:41,800 --> 00:30:45,240 Speaker 3: pins to honor a partner that's passed away, the partner 578 00:30:45,280 --> 00:30:47,240 Speaker 3: that everybody looked on the floor. Can we at least 579 00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:50,680 Speaker 3: have that even for a week? For a day, no 580 00:30:50,840 --> 00:30:51,640 Speaker 3: leeway was given. 581 00:30:54,480 --> 00:30:58,760 Speaker 1: Organizer Gianna Reeve. If you're enjoying this conversation, tell a 582 00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:02,040 Speaker 1: friend and be sure to follow Here's the Thing on 583 00:31:02,080 --> 00:31:06,880 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Spotify or wherever you'll get your podcasts 584 00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:11,040 Speaker 1: when we come back. Gianna Reeve shares the public's reaction 585 00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:26,040 Speaker 1: to Starbucks workers striking. I'm Alec Baldwin and you're listening 586 00:31:26,040 --> 00:31:31,280 Speaker 1: to Here's the Thing. Starbucks union organizer Gianna Reeve attended 587 00:31:31,360 --> 00:31:35,280 Speaker 1: a meeting in Buffalo with then CEO Howard Schultz and 588 00:31:35,320 --> 00:31:39,000 Speaker 1: other members of Starbucks leadership in late twenty twenty one. 589 00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:43,280 Speaker 1: She would end the meeting confronting Schultz about the company's 590 00:31:43,400 --> 00:31:48,240 Speaker 1: labor busting practices. I was curious how such an unorthodox 591 00:31:48,320 --> 00:31:50,640 Speaker 1: meeting came together in the first place. 592 00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:55,800 Speaker 3: The invite list was every partner in the Buffalo area, 593 00:31:55,840 --> 00:31:58,440 Speaker 3: So if you're barista, you were invited. They closed our 594 00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:02,320 Speaker 3: star locations early to have us go to this meeting 595 00:32:02,480 --> 00:32:06,960 Speaker 3: at a high regency hotel, as they put it, special guests. 596 00:32:07,680 --> 00:32:10,520 Speaker 3: Some of us thought it might be Taylor Swift. Others 597 00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:13,080 Speaker 3: among us were like, they're going to bring out Howard. 598 00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:14,800 Speaker 3: They're going to try and bring out the big guns 599 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:17,800 Speaker 3: to convince us that what we're doing isn't the right 600 00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:18,840 Speaker 3: move for the company. 601 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:21,040 Speaker 1: How many people were in that room, would you guess. 602 00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:23,800 Speaker 3: Between one hundred and two hundred. But the interesting part 603 00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:26,240 Speaker 3: of that is that about a third of the people 604 00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:29,240 Speaker 3: that were in the room were the corporate members that 605 00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:32,239 Speaker 3: had been coming to the Starbucks locations for months at 606 00:32:32,280 --> 00:32:36,800 Speaker 3: that point and surveilling and harassing and impeding on the 607 00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:39,720 Speaker 3: flow of operations in these stores. They were there as well, 608 00:32:39,760 --> 00:32:44,320 Speaker 3: wearing crisp out of the bag Green Aprons sitting and 609 00:32:44,400 --> 00:32:48,600 Speaker 3: listening and just eating up on this whole experience, while 610 00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:53,760 Speaker 3: there was another bunch that were just baristas from the 611 00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:56,680 Speaker 3: Buffalo's stores wondering what the hell was going on. 612 00:32:57,480 --> 00:32:59,880 Speaker 1: How long did the meeting last? 613 00:32:59,560 --> 00:33:03,280 Speaker 3: The lasted about an hour and a half. It was 614 00:33:03,320 --> 00:33:06,760 Speaker 3: about a half an hour of the actual talks and everything, 615 00:33:06,840 --> 00:33:10,400 Speaker 3: and maybe about ten minutes when Howard came out and spoke. 616 00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:12,880 Speaker 1: So he was not in attendance for the whole meeting. 617 00:33:13,480 --> 00:33:15,880 Speaker 3: No, he only came out for his speech and then 618 00:33:16,040 --> 00:33:16,880 Speaker 3: promptly left. 619 00:33:17,280 --> 00:33:20,480 Speaker 1: So he was actually interested in talking but not listening. 620 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:23,080 Speaker 3: Yes, he wanted to talk, but not listen. And when 621 00:33:23,680 --> 00:33:25,800 Speaker 3: I believe there was there was a little bit of 622 00:33:26,200 --> 00:33:28,560 Speaker 3: tension in the room because as many as there were 623 00:33:28,960 --> 00:33:34,080 Speaker 3: Green Apron extras, there were also people in the front row. 624 00:33:34,160 --> 00:33:37,560 Speaker 3: I sat in the front row with another organizing partner 625 00:33:37,600 --> 00:33:42,560 Speaker 3: from Sheridan Bailey's location named James, and we sat in 626 00:33:42,560 --> 00:33:46,040 Speaker 3: the front row together because we had talked prior a 627 00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:47,760 Speaker 3: bunch of us and said, wouldn't it be crazy if 628 00:33:47,800 --> 00:33:50,680 Speaker 3: someone asked Howard Schultz after he was done speaking to 629 00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:53,720 Speaker 3: sign our set of fair election principles which provide us 630 00:33:54,040 --> 00:33:56,920 Speaker 3: more protections. It provides union workers equal time. If they're 631 00:33:56,920 --> 00:34:00,080 Speaker 3: going to have captive meetings with workers, we would be 632 00:34:00,200 --> 00:34:04,000 Speaker 3: given essentially the same time. It would be a document 633 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:06,400 Speaker 3: saying that we're not going to threaten union workers anymore. 634 00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:09,319 Speaker 3: We're extending an olive branch. So he said, wouldn't it 635 00:34:09,320 --> 00:34:13,560 Speaker 3: be crazy if someone did this? And someone asked? And 636 00:34:13,640 --> 00:34:19,840 Speaker 3: for some reason in my stupid bravery or just impulse 637 00:34:19,920 --> 00:34:22,120 Speaker 3: or adrenaline, I said, yeah, wouldn't it? And I took 638 00:34:22,160 --> 00:34:23,879 Speaker 3: the paper and went and sat in the front row 639 00:34:24,680 --> 00:34:27,640 Speaker 3: and I listened to his whole speech so in depth. 640 00:34:27,680 --> 00:34:30,480 Speaker 3: I also listened to the podcast episode he was on 641 00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:33,640 Speaker 3: with you Alec, and I noticed a lot of the 642 00:34:33,640 --> 00:34:36,520 Speaker 3: same beats, the same story of this is the company 643 00:34:36,560 --> 00:34:39,239 Speaker 3: that he wanted to be, that he modeled this after 644 00:34:39,280 --> 00:34:41,400 Speaker 3: what his father didn't have. He wanted this to be 645 00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:43,920 Speaker 3: a company that his father would be proud to work from. 646 00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:50,520 Speaker 3: The projects yes, as often likes to say yes. And 647 00:34:51,080 --> 00:34:55,279 Speaker 3: so going into that and just listening and hearing the 648 00:34:55,320 --> 00:34:57,560 Speaker 3: same story now over and over again now that I've 649 00:34:57,600 --> 00:35:02,560 Speaker 3: heard it, and wondering, wouldn't his father have wanted union 650 00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:06,120 Speaker 3: membership for himself and wanted representation and protections at work. 651 00:35:06,440 --> 00:35:10,560 Speaker 3: And during this Congress meeting with Howard, Senator Ed Marquis 652 00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:13,440 Speaker 3: brought this up, and that was another point in which 653 00:35:13,719 --> 00:35:18,520 Speaker 3: Schultz bristled and became visibly annoyed or frustrated with this 654 00:35:18,600 --> 00:35:21,759 Speaker 3: line of questioning, even though it's something that baristas have 655 00:35:21,880 --> 00:35:25,760 Speaker 3: been thinking for a while now, because you can't separate 656 00:35:25,760 --> 00:35:30,560 Speaker 3: Howard from Starbucks, and this message and this idea is 657 00:35:30,600 --> 00:35:34,839 Speaker 3: embedded into the company. And as we're looking for ways 658 00:35:34,840 --> 00:35:37,080 Speaker 3: to meet the company better by having a worker focus, 659 00:35:37,160 --> 00:35:39,240 Speaker 3: you just can't help but think of that and wonder 660 00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:42,480 Speaker 3: what's happened. And I think what's happened is that the 661 00:35:42,520 --> 00:35:46,000 Speaker 3: workers don't have a voice, and we need to see 662 00:35:46,040 --> 00:35:46,760 Speaker 3: that shift. 663 00:35:47,400 --> 00:35:48,319 Speaker 1: Shultz step down. 664 00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:52,239 Speaker 3: Correct, Yes, he's replaced. He went from Howard to Kevin 665 00:35:52,320 --> 00:35:55,400 Speaker 3: Johnson to Howard to now Laxman. 666 00:35:55,920 --> 00:35:59,759 Speaker 1: Where is the effort now? Where's the unionization at Starbucks? Now? 667 00:36:00,200 --> 00:36:04,480 Speaker 3: Right now we are at over I believe three hundred 668 00:36:04,560 --> 00:36:09,800 Speaker 3: unionized locations and counting where filing petitions nearly every day. 669 00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:15,799 Speaker 3: We are continuing to build power within the Starbucks locations 670 00:36:15,880 --> 00:36:19,000 Speaker 3: and find baristas that are experiencing the same problems that 671 00:36:19,040 --> 00:36:22,480 Speaker 3: we have because after Buffalo, and we won in Buffalo, 672 00:36:22,600 --> 00:36:23,719 Speaker 3: just a monumental win. 673 00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:27,840 Speaker 1: So the Buffalo location is unionized, yes, and everybody that 674 00:36:27,920 --> 00:36:31,280 Speaker 1: works there is in the union. Everybody, Yes? What union 675 00:36:31,320 --> 00:36:32,279 Speaker 1: are they affiliated with? 676 00:36:32,480 --> 00:36:36,560 Speaker 3: We're affiliated with Workers United, So we aren't Starbucks Workers United? 677 00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:40,080 Speaker 3: Affiliated with Workers United. We don't pay dues until we 678 00:36:40,200 --> 00:36:44,000 Speaker 3: have a contract, and that's been kind of the sludging point. 679 00:36:44,200 --> 00:36:47,120 Speaker 3: Starbucks has not really been bargaining in good faith with us. 680 00:36:47,360 --> 00:36:49,520 Speaker 3: There have been times where we'd come to the table, 681 00:36:49,560 --> 00:36:52,000 Speaker 3: we'd set up a meeting, it would be the briests 682 00:36:52,040 --> 00:36:55,759 Speaker 3: coming in and Starbucks' lawyers would show up for two 683 00:36:55,800 --> 00:37:00,680 Speaker 3: minutes and then leave and gone. Nothing negotiated, nothing really discussed. 684 00:37:00,760 --> 00:37:03,719 Speaker 3: And we've been seeing that sledge happen time and time 685 00:37:03,719 --> 00:37:06,200 Speaker 3: again with these bargaining sessions that we've been trying to have. 686 00:37:06,520 --> 00:37:09,120 Speaker 3: We have our non economic proposals all ready to go, 687 00:37:09,600 --> 00:37:11,160 Speaker 3: they're just not coming to the table. 688 00:37:11,400 --> 00:37:13,719 Speaker 1: How can you compel them to sign the contract? How 689 00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:14,400 Speaker 1: does that work? 690 00:37:14,640 --> 00:37:17,640 Speaker 3: Well, I'm so glad you asked. That's going to come 691 00:37:17,760 --> 00:37:21,560 Speaker 3: from building power within our consumer base. Consumers. You think 692 00:37:21,560 --> 00:37:24,719 Speaker 3: that they would be jumping at the chance to sort 693 00:37:24,719 --> 00:37:26,960 Speaker 3: of vote with their dollars and say no, I can 694 00:37:26,960 --> 00:37:29,560 Speaker 3: take a stand by not buying Starbucks. But the thing 695 00:37:29,640 --> 00:37:31,920 Speaker 3: is is that a lot of customers still don't know 696 00:37:32,040 --> 00:37:35,360 Speaker 3: that this is happening within Starbucks locations. They don't realize 697 00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:38,200 Speaker 3: that Starbucks has been putting on one of the most 698 00:37:38,200 --> 00:37:42,040 Speaker 3: aggressive union busting campaigns in modern history. So a lot 699 00:37:42,080 --> 00:37:45,040 Speaker 3: of the next steps are going to be educating consumers 700 00:37:45,400 --> 00:37:48,080 Speaker 3: and moving forward and letting them know what's happening in 701 00:37:48,120 --> 00:37:51,120 Speaker 3: these store locations and saying like, are you going to 702 00:37:51,760 --> 00:37:53,680 Speaker 3: not cross the picket line when you see us out 703 00:37:53,719 --> 00:37:56,839 Speaker 3: on strike? And we've had large strikes where there's been 704 00:37:56,880 --> 00:37:58,960 Speaker 3: over one hundred locations on strike at any given point 705 00:37:59,040 --> 00:38:01,759 Speaker 3: during some of the companies largest days of like Red 706 00:38:01,760 --> 00:38:03,520 Speaker 3: Cup Day. You come in, you get a free red cup, 707 00:38:03,520 --> 00:38:06,279 Speaker 3: you get your holiday drink, and you go. We had 708 00:38:06,320 --> 00:38:08,600 Speaker 3: strikes going at over one hundred store locations across the 709 00:38:08,600 --> 00:38:09,520 Speaker 3: country on days line. 710 00:38:09,440 --> 00:38:12,719 Speaker 1: And the strike entail people just not working, yeah, work stop. 711 00:38:12,960 --> 00:38:14,000 Speaker 1: It was just no service. 712 00:38:14,239 --> 00:38:16,800 Speaker 3: People can't say coffee, wow, No, you cannot. 713 00:38:16,960 --> 00:38:19,520 Speaker 1: What was the public's voice in that? What would people 714 00:38:19,600 --> 00:38:20,920 Speaker 1: say to you while you were striking? 715 00:38:21,040 --> 00:38:22,920 Speaker 3: There's always a couple of people that aren't too happy 716 00:38:22,920 --> 00:38:25,040 Speaker 3: when they see a picket line for whatever reason or other. 717 00:38:25,120 --> 00:38:28,360 Speaker 3: But a lot of the times it was customers being like, wow, 718 00:38:28,480 --> 00:38:30,560 Speaker 3: I didn't know that. I had no idea. I've been 719 00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:32,920 Speaker 3: coming here for the past however long, and I just 720 00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:36,440 Speaker 3: had no knowledge of this. I'll go to Spot coffee 721 00:38:36,560 --> 00:38:38,480 Speaker 3: or something instead, or like we point them to one 722 00:38:38,480 --> 00:38:40,880 Speaker 3: of the unionized coffee shops in Buffalo. Points like that. 723 00:38:40,960 --> 00:38:43,800 Speaker 3: On strikes, a lot of people are enthusiastic, and especially 724 00:38:43,800 --> 00:38:46,160 Speaker 3: in the Buffalo area. Buffalo's a union town. We have 725 00:38:46,239 --> 00:38:48,880 Speaker 3: higher union density than a lot of other locations across 726 00:38:48,880 --> 00:38:52,319 Speaker 3: the country. So chances are that you are in a union, 727 00:38:52,400 --> 00:38:54,120 Speaker 3: or you know someone that's in a union, or family 728 00:38:54,120 --> 00:38:56,200 Speaker 3: members in a union. So you see a picket light 729 00:38:56,280 --> 00:38:57,799 Speaker 3: and you're you're not crossing that. 730 00:38:58,200 --> 00:39:00,759 Speaker 1: Well, let me just say thank you so much for 731 00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:04,920 Speaker 1: your courage and your intelligence. I mean, you really really 732 00:39:05,080 --> 00:39:08,280 Speaker 1: are are somebody who you've obviously examined this from every 733 00:39:08,400 --> 00:39:13,480 Speaker 1: angle and you've brought about what's important. Changed because when 734 00:39:13,480 --> 00:39:17,840 Speaker 1: I saw those people at the Manchester Vermont Starbucks, I 735 00:39:17,880 --> 00:39:20,640 Speaker 1: mean working themselves, I mean just it was crazy. It 736 00:39:20,719 --> 00:39:23,399 Speaker 1: was crazy. And when you sit there and say you'd 737 00:39:23,480 --> 00:39:26,160 Speaker 1: like to have those conditions be improved. You're to be 738 00:39:26,200 --> 00:39:28,440 Speaker 1: committed for it. You've done. It's really, really truly amazing. 739 00:39:28,760 --> 00:39:31,400 Speaker 3: Thank you. I really appreciate it. Thank you for having me. 740 00:39:35,280 --> 00:39:40,640 Speaker 1: My thanks to Starbucks Workers United organizer Gianna Reeve. This 741 00:39:40,760 --> 00:39:44,600 Speaker 1: episode was recorded at CDM Studios in New York City. 742 00:39:45,040 --> 00:39:48,720 Speaker 1: Were produced by Kathleen Russo, Zach MacNeice, and Maureen Hobin. 743 00:39:49,080 --> 00:39:53,120 Speaker 1: Our engineer is Frank Imperial. Our social media manager is 744 00:39:53,320 --> 00:39:56,400 Speaker 1: Daniel Gingrich. I'm Alec Baldwin. Here's the thing that is 745 00:39:56,480 --> 00:40:11,160 Speaker 1: brought to you by iHeart Radio