Portland Starbucks Workers File to Form Union

Workers at the Starbucks on Middle Street in Portland have filed to become the second unionized Starbucks in Maine. The latest organizing drive follows the success of Biddeford Starbucks workers in forming the first union at the coffee chain in Maine last spring. In a letter to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, the Portland baristas wrote that they are forming a union because they want to have a stronger voice and more democracy in the work place. The letter reads in part:

Partners at our store have been without representation while the cost of living continues to go up. Among the many reasons, a lack of break coverage and support we felt the need to organize with a quickness to have our voices heard. Many partners are overworked and "pouring from an empty cup" unceasingly giving our entire selves daily without even a few drops back in our cup at the end of the day.

The best way to improve the lives of your workers is to respect their right to defend and fight for their beliefs without fear of retaliation or consequences. We ask that the cups be filled equally 50-50, a happy medium or even just a few more drops back into our cups.

Since the first successful Starbucks union drive in Bufflalo, NY in December, workers at more than 200 Starbucks stores across the country have formed unions.

Middle Street Starbucks barista Mandie Cantrell said the idea to organize a union came to her a few months ago after she and coworkers tried to run a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, but it never got going because they didn't have time and were burnt out from work. She said the baristas want to bargain for higher wages because the cost of living in Portland has skyrocketed. Rents in particular have gone through the roof during the pandemic and Cantrell says she is also involved in the Trelawny Tenant’s Union to fight for tenant rights in Portland.

“What we’ve found is that a single Starbucks barista living in Portland would just barely break even and not be able to afford a place on their own based on averages we got from places that are for rent right now,” she said. “Baristas are just barely making it. How are we supposed to get by on our own?”

Cantrell said members of the community have been coming into the store all week expressing their support for the workers. She says that means a lot to Starbucks baristas as they prepare for their union election.

“Come into our store, get a coffee and tell us that you’re pro-union and you support us,” she said. “That’s what we need to hear right now.”

And maybe serenade them with this new version of "Solidarity Forever" by Boston Starbucks workers!