***PARTNERS & CUSTOMERS***
While we love serving our customers and community every day, it is time we fess up. Our baristas and shift supervisors can no longer foot the bill for our underpaid and over utilized work force. We are given access to spotify and headspace instead of adequate mental health care. We are given a free pound of coffee and free beverages instead of a fair living wage. We are given a food item a day instead of ensuring partners can escape food insecurity via their own labor.
Unfortunately after more that a decade of fighting silently inside our stores for a living wage, our partners (in federal min $ states) are still making just over the minimum wage. It would be fruitless to list our ever growing job descriptions here, but nevertheless we continue to add more onto our work duties with mockingly low compensation. We DESERVE the right to a fair wage and the ability to negotiate those wages. As most of you have noticed, we were once again given a small raise (0.10-0.75) this January as we watched our store level benefits shrink and beverage prices rise.
It is time for our leadership to explain how our CEO Kevin Johnson is making upwards of 1000 times the lowest earning partners, the share holders saw record returns for FY18, Tens of Millions were awarded in top executive bonus programs, we hosted thousands of upper management partners to a private John Legend concert, and opened a hugely successful roastery in Chicago,but our baristas were given free spotify. We are no longer willing to remain silent, it is time we demanded answers and action.
We have a number of considerations that need to be heard. Including but not limited to:
1. Fair Living Wages (baristas starting $15 s.s. $18)
2. Sick leave without unfair intimidation
3. A workers liaison board made up of 50% store level partners and 50% district, regional , and national partners.
4. Stop the use of pseudo-benefits to subdue the need for real healthcare, living wages, and the end of food insecurity in our daily lives.
***CUSTOMERS***
You can help make sure your favorite baristas are compensated and treated fairly by signing and sharing this petition as well as calling 1-800-235-2883 to let Starbucks know that we deserve better. Then, next time you're through, remind your baristas that you see them and agree they deserve better. After all, you should be able to afford the products you sell, right?
