Joining a growing movement of Starbucks workers across the United States, workers at a Starbucks location in south Orlando have officially filed a petition seeking a union election, in an effort to collectively advocate for better staffing, stable hours, and to address alleged instances of racism and anti-LGBTQ+ comments coming from store management.
“I want to unionize because I am passionate about Starbucks. I’m passionate about connecting with customers and, like, being there for this company that used to be community-first,” Lakota Stewart, a 27-year-old barista trainer at the Starbucks on 13401 Blue Heron Beach Drive, told Orlando Weekly.
“I also want to make sure that me and my fellow baristas are working in a safe and inclusive environment,” Stewart added, sharing that they have personally faced “snide comments” regarding their queer identity and appearance, and has heard from co-workers about upper management talking down workers of color and workers for whom English isn’t their first language.
“I want to make sure that that the people who are creating a hostile environment are worked to be retrained, instead of just being ignored or pushed aside,” they said.
The workers’ union petition, filed with the National Labor Relations Board on Sept. 4, states that 19 full-time and part-time workers at Stewart’s location, including baristas and shift supervisors, would be covered by the labor union Starbucks Workers United, if workers vote to unionize.
Starbucks Workers United, a grassroots campaign of the labor union Workers United, represents more than 10,500 workers employed by the major coffee chain at more than 490 stores nationwide, including 10 other locations in Florida. All have unionized over the last three years. It started with workers at a store in Buffalo, New York, who first unionized in 2021, setting off a flurry of organizing, with young and LGBTQ+ workers at the forefront of the movement seeking improved scheduling practices, better pay and benefits, racial and gender equity, and to have a real voice on the job.
Yomna Abdellatif, a 23-year-old barista of about 3.5 years who works at the same Orlando-based Starbucks, located in the city’s bustling tourism district, said she’s been following the Starbucks organizing movement since its inception, but has been inspired by coverage of other Starbucks workers in Tampa, Clearwater and Oviedo who have similarly unionized.
“Every time I read an article, even the ones locally, with the location in Oviedo and recently with Tampa and Clearwater, those stories really are empowering,” Abdellatif told Orlando Weekly. “Just listening to them and hearing that these partners had the bravery to stand up for themselves really inspired me, personally.”
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Photo by McKenna Schueler/Orlando Weekly
Courtney Thompson (left) stands on the picket line with fellow Starbucks workers at Central Florida’s only unionized Starbucks on March 22, 2023.
Abdellatif, like Stewart, felt motivated to organize workers at her location in part due to staffing issues, but also instances of discrimination from management that haven’t been addressed, despite voiced concerns. “We went forward to higher-ups to speak about our grievances, whether it’s from like the staffing or the racism,” she said. “Our cases are always shut down, so we figured it’s time for a union that will finally have our voices heard.”
Both Stewart and Abdellatif also claimed managers at their location are engaging in “union-busting tactics,” such as spreading false information about unions. When we asked Starbucks about this, Orlando Weekly was told “our hope is the union would respect our right to share information and our perspective just as we respect their right to do so.”
Stewart said they’ve had a broken dishwasher at their store for two years, but it was only after they began organizing that higher-ups went about trying to get the machine fixed (a common tactic used by companies as a last-ditch effort to convince workers they don’t need a union to address workplace concerns).
The company initially launched an aggressive counter-campaign to workers’ organizing efforts back when the organizing movement across the country first began, racking up dozens of unfair labor practice charges that alleged the company illegally fired or otherwise retaliated against workers for their union activity.
In February, the company finally waved a white flag of sorts, following bad PR and sinking stock values, and the company has since been willing to meet Starbucks union reps and workers at the bargaining table to hammer out collective bargaining agreements, informally known as union contracts.
A company spokesperson told Orlando Weekly over email they’re making progress in negotiations, but recycled their usual statement when asked about the Orlando location, sharing they prefer to have a “direct relationship” with their employees, whom they call partners. Such language (“direct relationship”) is commonly used by employers opposed to union drives.
“At Starbucks we believe that our direct relationship as partners is core to the experiences we create in our stores, and we respect our partners’ rights to have a choice on the topic of unions,” a company spokesperson shared in a statement. “We are committed to delivering on our promise to offer a bridge to a better future to all Starbucks partners.”
When pressed for a response specifically to the allegations of discrimination and racism at the Orlando store, a spokesperson for the multibillion-dollar Seattle-based corporation, Jay Go Guasch, said: “We expect all partners to treat one another and our customers with dignity and respect, and our policies strictly prohibit any discriminatory, threatening or retaliatory behavior directed toward others.”
Filing a petition for a union election requires gathering signed cards of support for unionization from at least 30 percent of employees, although union organizers typically recommend gathering cards from at least double that prior to filing a petition — mostly as a way to prepare for the potential impact of employer intimidation or retaliation, a common occurrence during union drives.
One worker at a Starbucks in Winter Park on Park Avenue alleged back in 2022 that they and their co-workers were themselves facing threatening messages from Starbucks over their union activity, and workers at the store ultimately voted against unionization.
Organizing in Southern states like Florida can be a more daunting endeavor, since Southern states generally have lower rates of union membership and labor unions that have fewer resources and power, in part due to anti-union laws like right-to-work, which financially strap unions and diminish workers’ ability to collectively advocate for better wages and working conditions.
In Florida, just 6.1 percent of workers have union representation, yet public support for unions nationally has steadily been growing over the past decade. Across the state, workers at nine other Starbucks locations have already voted to unionize in recent years, including locations in Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Oviedo, Miami, and more recently in Tampa and Clearwater.
At the Orlando store, workers can soon expect the National Labor Relations Board to set a date for their union election, provided there are no objections from Starbucks.
Then, workers will have the chance to democratically vote whether they want to join the union. Abdellatif said a majority of workers at her location — 90 percent — are in support of forming a union. The rest, she said, “are the ones being pressured by leadership.”
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