LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A group of employees at the Starbucks located on Azure and Tenaya is pushing to become the second location in the valley to unionize. The employees say it's due to a history of lack of support.
PREVIOUS: Second Starbucks location in Las Vegas valley announces plan to unionize
In a joint letter to CEO Howard Schultz, a group of employees addressed their concerns. Thursday night, the group of employees officially notified Starbucks store management and its corporate office that they had filed an intent to unionize with Starbucks Workers United. If they are successful, this would be the second location in the valley to unionize. The Starbucks store at Oakey and Rainbow unionized in November of last year.
Starbucks has said in the past that its employees did not need union representation because the company has always provided competitive wages, health care, free college tuition, and other benefits for workers. Although the group of employees who spoke with Reporter Shakeria Hawkins didn't want to go into specifics, they say the reason they want to unionize is because of a build-up of unfair treatment.
Barista Haylie Smith says she and her coworkers believes the company values profit over the well-being of their employees and that they finally had enough.
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"We want to do it now before it's too late," she said. "We see all the stores across the nation doing it and it's very inspiring. We feel like we can take a stance up to this big company and that's what we want to do."
The employees say a vote will be scheduled in about a month and the entire staff will vote on whether to unionize. If the vote passes, they will meet for a bargaining session with Starbucks corporate office.
Workers have also organized what they are calling a sip-in protest on Saturday from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. seeking support from the community on their desire to unionize.
