Employees of a Starbucks coffee shop in Waterloo became the first in Ontario to join a union, according to an announcement from the United Steelworkers.
In 2020, employees of a Starbucks shop in Victoria were the first in North America to join a union and since then workers in Vancouver, Surrey and Langley, B.C., as well as those in Edmonton, Sherwood Park and Calgary, Alta., have followed suit, the union says.
Hundreds of American stores have also unionized, according to The Canadian Press.
“We started this campaign after being inspired by other stores showing us that it was possible,” an unnamed employee of the Waterloo Town Square store was quoted in a release.
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“The best part of this job is the community that the partners create together, and we want to be able to protect and improve the workplace to make it better for everyone.”
The union claims that the company brought in “union experts” (which the union characterized as “union busters”) to watch employees and provide misinformation while attempting to scare the employees about joining USW.
“Workers want to be able to hold Starbucks accountable and make sure the company lives up to the values it constantly preaches, especially when it comes to respecting and valuing ‘partners,’” the release stated.
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