Tumwater Starbucks workers join 3-day ‘Double Down’ strike against unfair labor practices
Local Starbucks workers are joining a national protest that will last all this weekend.
Employees at the Tumwater Drive Thru location at 5300 Capitol Blvd. SE plan to strike against unfair labor practices Friday through Sunday, Dec. 16-18. The strike will last all day, but pickets will happen from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day, according to a news release from Tumwater Drive United.
Demonstrations have been going on at this location since the spring. Last month, the Tumwater Starbucks joined more than 100 stores in a strike during the company’s Red Cup Day. This weekend’s demonstration was named the “Double Down Strike,” and about 100 stores across the country were expected to participate.
The news release said instead of listening to workers following the November strike, Starbucks escalated its anti-union campaign by closing the first store to organize in Seattle.
“Starbucks doubled down on their union-busting, so workers are going to double down their fight for a contract,” the release said.
Dylan Lux, a shift supervisor at the Tumwater location, said in the release that employees’ hours have been cut, pay raises have been denied, credit card tipping has been withheld and more.
“The partners of Tumwater DT have far too much dignity to let this company push us around without consequences,” Lux said in the release. “We are united in this struggle and we will win this fight because it’s workers that have the real power.”
The National Labor Relations Board has received more than 45 complaints against the coffee company, encompassing more than 900 violations, according to the release. Workers are asking the public to not buy Starbucks gift cards until they settle on a reasonable contract.
Abigail Parker, a spokesperson for Starbucks, told The Olympian in an email statement on Dec. 16 that the company respects employees’ right to protest, and that anyone who participates has the right to return to work at any time. But the claims from Workers United about the company’s union-busting tactics are misleading, she said.
“Despite these delay tactics, we remain focused on working together and engaging meaningfully and directly with the union to make Starbucks a company that works for everyone, and we urge Workers United to uphold their promises to partners by moving the bargaining process forward,” she said.
This story was originally published December 16, 2022 at 11:03 AM.
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