Workers and union organizers gathered outside the Starbucks location on 24th Avenue Northwest in Norman on Thursday morning to join picketers in 60 cities across the country in escalating contract demands and preparing to strike.
The union’s demands include more take-home pay, better hours, and for the company to resolve hundreds of unfair labor practice charges against them.
Voting on whether to authorize a strike began on October 24. Maxwell Taliaferro, an employee at the 24th Avenue location, cites high manager turnover as an additional stressor for the store, which voted to join Starbucks Workers United earlier this year.
“Our store specifically had three managers in one year,” he said. “A lot of our older baristas — even our tenured baristas have decided to finally leave the company because of the unfair practices and unrealistic expectations that Starbucks has for our store.”
In a statement, a spokesperson with Starbucks said any agreement reached needs to “reflect the reality Starbucks already offers the best job in retail, including more than $30 an hour on average in pay and benefits for hourly partners.”
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