Chestnut Hill Starbucks joins wave of unionized Philly stores

The Chestnut Hill Starbucks became the 15th Philadelphia location to unionize following a vote on Friday.

The 10 eligible workers at the 8515 Germantown Ave. location voted unanimously to join Starbucks Workers United, which includes over 11,000 baristas nationwide.

“I’m excited to join the fight with every other unionized store to get the equal treatment we deserve,” said shift supervisor Tony Schultz, 31.

Having enough staffing at the store has been a challenge, said Schultz. who has worked there for around a year and a half. Keeping the store operating with a small staff sometimes means delaying or rescheduling breaks, they said.

“We hit a breaking point with that, and just felt as though joining up with the union would benefit us and hopefully rectify that,” said Schultz.

Members are also seeking better wages, Schultz noted.

A Starbucks spokesperson said that the company has a “commitment to diligently create work schedules that carefully balance the availability of our partners with the staffing needs of individual stores” and that providing employees work hours that fit their needs and preferences “is a top priority.”

“Coupled with higher wages and the expansion of hours, these investments have not only resulted in lower turnover but have also increased hourly total cash compensation by nearly 50% since FY2020,” the spokesperson said.

Starbucks employees started organizing several years ago, and their first union vote was in 2021 at a Buffalo, N.Y., store. Since then, over 590 Starbucks locations in 45 states and Washington, D.C., have voted to unionize, according to Starbucks Workers United.

“We respect our partners’ right to choose, through a fair and democratic process, to be represented by a union or not to be represented by a union, and will continue to work together to make Starbucks the best job in retail,” a Starbucks spokesperson said via email on Tuesday. “Hourly partners receive pay above industry average and best-in-class benefits, together worth an average of $30 per hour for those who work at least 20 hours per week.”

Starbucks leadership had said in February 2024 that they hoped to have contracts ratified by the end of 2024, but that didn’t come to pass. Starbucks workers in Philadelphia joined nationwide strikes in December after a bargaining session failed to reach an agreement on increased wages.

In January Starbucks and the union brought in a mediator to advance contract negotiations.

Starbucks’ hourly employees make over $19 per hour on average, the company has said. Starbucks also pays tuition for employees pursuing a four-year degree, and provides health benefits.

“Since last April Starbucks and Workers United have held more than nine bargaining sessions over 20 days and three mediation sessions over five days with a federal mediator,” said the Starbucks spokesperson on Tuesday. “We’ve reached over 30 meaningful agreements on hundreds of topics Workers United delegates told us were important to them.”

Amid these contract negotiations, other changes are taking place within the Starbucks workplace.

The company updated its barista dress code in April, requiring workers to wear a black shirt with blue denim, black, or khaki bottoms, underneath the company’s green aprons. Starbucks Workers United had been negotiating a possible dress code with the company and opposed changes while a contract agreement was not reached, the Associated Press reported.

In January, the company updated its store policy to state that individuals who are not paying customers may be asked to leave or denied bathroom access, also providing training for employees on enforcing the new rule. The change reversed Starbucks’ open-door policy, which was adopted in 2018 after two Black men were arrested for sitting at a Center City Philadelphia store without ordering anything in an incident that went viral and sparked protests.