MISSOULA - The Starbucks located on Brooks and Central became the first shop to petition to unionize in Missoula.
The announcement to join the union came from a letter sent to Starbucks’ CEO which demanded a strong foundation of rights, wages, health and safety, along with other benefits that would come from unionizing.
What will unionizing mean to the workers at this store? Starbucks barista and committee member Kate Alexander said.
“For just the sake of having that extra level of security and like guaranteeing that we have a way to talk back and forth with corporate and with all the higher ups and make sure that conversation is able to be had and taken seriously.”
“Yeah, the idea is that once you are organized in a committee… not as a committee but as a store you would be able to vote on things and bargain for things and bring up proposals that could kind of bring us back to the, what Starbucks called the third place environment. It’s meant to be a warm inviting place for partners and customers alike for anyone who wants to come in," Hayden Cook the founder of the Brooks and Central Committee further explained.
The overall goal for a potential union is to give the workers a voice when it comes to issues that happen within the stores.
When asked about what is next for the store after sending this letter Cook said, the next step for this store is to wait for the National Labor Relations Board to take their vote to unionize.
