(WXYZ) — Workers at four Starbucks locations in Michigan announced they are unionizing, the latest in a trend of Starbucks workers across the country.
The workers at two Starbucks in Ann Arbor, as well as one each in Clinton Township and Grand Blanc, are organizing with Workers United (SEIU), which successfully organized at Starbucks in Buffalo, N.Y. last December.
Workers United said an overwhelming majority of eligible employees signed union authorization cards, and all four groups will file petitions for union elections with the National Labor Relations Board.
Workers at the Grand Blanc store sent a letter through email to Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson, saying in part, "Partner safety has taken a back seat at our store, exemplified by the removal of hazard pay two months into the COVID-19 pandemic, a lack of a fire escape in our building, and rescinding the requirement of customers to wear masks in our building… We feel that this union is the best chance we have at improving conditions and being able to make a sustainable, meaningful career.”
