stronger bargaining power, said DeLeon, who has been working at Starbucks for just under nine years. “If each of us … goes to management or upper man- agement and makes an argu- ment for a pay raise, it will likely not lead to much,” he said. “But if there’s a union that now represents all work- ers in the workspace, that is a much bigger bargaining effort with employers.” The Montrose workers reached out to Starbucks Workers United—a collective group of Starbucks employ- ees who are organizing workplaces into unions with the help of Workers United Upstate, a progressive labor organization—to help them begin the process and provide legal guidance. The TGCALF is also sup- porting the Montrose location by offering general help and advice, Khalil said. He said if the workers stay united, they will prevail. According to Khalil, other Starbucks locations in the city are paying close attention to this effort, so he said he believes others will follow suit if the Montrose location is suc- cessful. DeLeon said his con- tact with Starbucks Workers United has since fielded out- reach from other Starbucks stores in the Houston area about potentially organizing. “I feel like the whole process has opened up a lot of people’s eyes, especially people my age and younger who are maybe not familiar with the process [and] are starting to learn that there are resources,” he said.
In Houston, unions are seen in a variety of industries, but primarily the petrochemi- cal and shipping industries because of the Port of Hous- ton, which Khalil said is a his- torical base of the Texas labor movement. Workers in this area have organized since the 1930s, he said. Unionization efforts have been taking place at various Starbucks locations around the U.S., said Michael Green, director of the Workplace Law Program at Texas A&M University. As of July, Austin and San Antonio both had two Starbucks that are unionized, while Denton has one. But, due to a number of factors, the push toward unioniza- tion could soon become more widespread, Green said. “Now that you have com- panies that are so desperate to get workers, ... there’s a lot more attempts by the work- ers to engage in having some power and voice in the work- place through unions,” he said. Leading the charge The unionization effort at Starbucks, located at 2801 S. Shepherd Drive, Houston, follows a string of efforts across the U.S., starting with two Starbucks that unionized in Buffalo, New York, last December. As of early August, 229 Starbucks locations had voted to unionize with 208 of those being certified and ready to begin bargaining, according to the NLRB. The push to unionize both locally and across the coun- try has to do with securing
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labor practices. Among the Houston busi- nesses looking to become the next to unionize is a Starbucks store in Upper Kirby. After fil- ing a petition to unionize in July, workers who are leading the charge said they antici- pate sending out mail ballots in early September that will allow employees to vote on whether to support or oppose forming the union. Ballots are set to be counted Sept. 22. “We hope we’re not only the first [Houston] store to win, but that we get a unani- mous win,” said Josh DeLeon, the shift manager who filed the petition. Because Texas is a right-to- work state, Hany Khalil said he believes workers are weaker and more divided with lower wages. Khalil is the execu- tive director of the Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation, a labor council that works to help other unions. “Texas is on the lower end of the spectrum [for unions], which is the case in every right-to-work state,” Khalil said. According to the Texas attorney general’s website, a right-to-work state means employment cannot be denied because of a member- ship or nonmembership in a labor union. It is illegal for an employer to require union affiliation and payment as a condition of employment. However, employees can obtain the benefits of a union without being affiliated or paying the monthly dues.
To become a union, a workplace must follow a series of steps. According to the National Labor Relations Board, there are two ways workers can become a union. UNIONIZATION SOURCE: NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
Steps for voluntary recognition:
Steps for forming through NLRB election:
Contact a union organizer or start own union
Contact a union organizer or start own union
30% At least of co-workers must sign union authorization cards File a petition for a union election with the NLRB
Majority of co-workers must sign union authorization cards
Ask employer for voluntary recognition
If the union wins 50% + 1 VOTE, employer must bargain working conditions
If employer recognizes union , bargaining begins
If employer refuses, workers can strike for recognition or file a petition for an election with the NLRB
TEXAS If in Texas:
OTHER STATES
Benefits depend on the bargaining process, a case-by-case basis.
VS.
Outside of Texas or in a non-right-to-work state: must pay union fees to be covered by a union
employees get union benefits without paying union fees
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