Starbucks Workers United community members and their partners protested the decision by the company to close the store permanently on Friday, June 8.
Workers were given less than a week notice, and they called for a boycott at other Starbucks stores in the city.
Starbucks lawyers met twice with unionized workers to offer them the possibility of transferring to another location. The company refused to guarantee workers’ jobs in the future, which left them scrambling.
Alayna Earl is a Cornell student who is a member the union. She has been working at the store for two years as a barista. It is the closest Starbucks to campus.
She said that most Cornell students don’t own cars so even if they were transferred to another store workers who are also students would still have to get to work.
Earl was unable to attend Wednesday’s protest but he sat in the second bargaining meeting between unionized employees and lawyers. She described how the conversation was a circle, with lawyers repeating that they will not be reopening the store soon. The lawyers also told workers that they couldn’t guarantee the same hours and could not guarantee transfers.
“One thing we are concerned about is whether we will still get the same hours at our old store if we move to another store with a full-staffed staff. Earl agreed.
There are still questions about why the College Avenue store was closed. Starbucks has refused to give company data. NPR reached out to Starbucks for comment.
Earl stated that neither she nor the workers understood the arguments presented by the lawyers during Wednesday’s meeting.
“They stated that… our efficiency was not up to standard, and they wanted the customer and barista experience to be better. We weren’t consulted. They didn’t ask if our store was efficient for them, it was based on Starbucks standards but they weren’t really going through what the standards meant,” she said.
Earl stated that the coffee shop was integral to Cornell’s campus. Customers came in and out of the shop for coffee and study. This confusion led to even more confusion among employees about the cafe’s closing.
“Many of us were puzzled as to why it was closing suddenly. The lawyers said that we weren’t efficient or that closing was for business reasons. Earl stated that it’s the most profitable Ithaca store due to its proximity to Cornell and how many students frequent it each day.
Workers believe that the store was closed in retaliation to their unionization.
The College Avenue store was able to win a historic victory two months ago when it joined the union with the other two Ithaca stores. This made national headlines because it was the first city to unionize all Starbucks stores.
The College Avenue store workers were the loudest of all the three. They demanded fair treatment and a good work environment. They had been on strike since April 19th over a grease trap that was broken and unsanitary.
Starbucks leaders were angered by the workers’ unionization and they closed the store.
“College Avenue was very vocal in unionizing. People were not happy with us speaking up and voicing our concerns. Earl stated that rather than listening to our concerns, they shut down the store without any notice.”
Earl stated that while the next steps are not yet clear, she and others still hope to get their old store and job security back. They hope for fair working conditions, and that their voices are heard. This boycott has been supported by many people, not only local workers but also Starbucks unions across the nation via social media.
“We feel supported by other Starbucks employees. Earl stated that he believes that the Ithaca stores have a close-knit community and that they are open to supporting each other when something isn’t being done right or fairly.
