Employees at Midtown Starbucks and Amazon Go Retailer Wish to Unionize – Industrial Observer

Staffers on the Starbucks and Amazon Go collaborative retailer in Midtown try to unionize.

Employees on the 620 Eighth Avenue retailer filed a petition Friday to carry a union election, in accordance with the Nationwide Labor Relations Board and Starbucks Employees United, the union searching for to characterize the roughly 29 workers of the store. 

Joseph McElhaney, an worker on the Eighth Avenue retailer since September, stated staffers typically need to do double-duty of creating Starbucks drinks whereas additionally educating prospects how you can use Amazon’s register-less checkout system, regardless of not being paid by both firm for the additional work. McElhaney added that the cafè typically lacks sufficient employees to deal with the excessive quantity of shoppers.

“We’re doing issues that personally I really feel like is out of our job description,” McElhaney stated. “I’m attempting to determine why I’m attempting to elucidate this totally different product to the identical physique of shoppers. It appears like we’re being taken benefit of for our work.”

Spokespeople for Starbucks and Amazon didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.

The shop on the base of the New York Instances Constructing opened in July and is the second Starbucks to use Amazon’s know-how, following the debut spot at 111 East 59th Street. 

If the union push is profitable, the Eighth Avenue location can be the eighth Starbucks outpost to unionize in New York Metropolis, including to greater than 250 unionized cafè nationally, in accordance with Employees United. 

Whereas the cashierless Starbucks is beginning its push, already unionized staff on the java purveyor’s flagship roastery at 61 Ninth Avenue began a strike this week to protest the shop’s alleged unsanitary situations — together with mattress bugs and a moldy ice machine — together with the chain’s failure to cut price a contract with staffers for the reason that April union election, in accordance with Employees United.

Not one of the Starbucks shops that unionized across the nation beginning final yr have been in a position to agree on a contract with Starbucks, in accordance with Employees United.

Celia Younger will be reached at [email protected].