Employees at a Starbucks in Hillcrest this week announced their intent to join Starbucks Workers United — the union that has been organizing stores across the country, including one in Encinitas.
Emma Bradshaw has worked at Starbucks for almost three years, and loves her job and customers. But she says working conditions at her home store in Hillcrest started going sour last year after an electrical fire in the shopping center at University Avenue and Richmond Street.
The store has been powered by generators ever since. But they frequently break down, forcing the workers to close up shop and lose hours.
"We had a joke at the store that every single Tuesday we would lose power," Bradshaw said. "It was multiple weeks in a row that we would have to close."
Managers told employees that they could pick up shifts at other locations, but Bradshaw often couldn't reach those locations because she doesn't have regular access to a car. The loss of income made it hard to pay rent, and she came close to losing her health insurance benefits.
"It's just been kind of a frustrating last year, and I think that's what mostly pushed me towards joining the union," Bradshaw said.
Starbucks has hired an army of lawyers to fight the unionization drive, which has accelerated in recent months. A federal judge ruled in March that the company had committed "egregious and widespread misconduct" in its anti-union efforts and had violated labor laws "hundreds of times."
Starbucks Workers United said that a majority of workers at the Hillcrest store had signed union cards, and that it expects a formal election to certify the union in the next six to eight weeks.
Ally Dodge, another employee at the Starbucks on University Avenue, said the store's electrical problems had also led to safety concerns. Baristas have been forced to troubleshoot the generators when they break down outside — even when it's raining.
"I don't get paid enough to do something so dangerous," Dodge said. "My job is to make coffee."
The safety issues culminated on a recent Sunday when a breaker box exploded, filling the store with smoke. Dodge called the fire department after she couldn't reach the store manager — who later threatened consequences because she did not contact the company's facilities services first.
Dodge said the manager declined to come to the store and deal with the problem, and suggested that she sit in her car and use a meditation app to calm down.
"I felt almost degraded in a way," Dodge said.
Starbucks spokeswoman Alyssa Toomey sent KPBS a statement saying the company prefers a "direct relationship" with its employees, but also respects "their right to organize and to engage in lawful union activities without fear of reprisal or retaliation." She also touted the company's benefits and its investment in "new time-saving technologies like portable cold foamers."
Toomey did not directly address the temporary store closures related to electrical failures. But, regarding lost hours, she said: "Partner work schedules are published on a regular, rolling basis three weeks in advance and are built based on recorded partner availability and the unique operational needs of each store."
Starbucks recently announced that it was closing another store in Hillcrest, about a half-mile away at Fifth Avenue and Robinson Avenue. A local business association claimed incidents involving people experiencing homelessness were to blame. But Dodge and Bradshaw said the homeless customers who visit their store are kind and respectful, and usually just want a cup of water.
"When I came into Starbucks, I was really excited about working at this company because of their mission and values," Dodge said. "Working here, I started to realize that management doesn't really have your back, and the mission and values really don't matter — especially when it comes to partner safety."
