Starbucks Union

In a small town, right outside of Chicago, in North West Indiana, Starbucks is taking over...

Portage Indiana...right off highway 94 and the toll way 80/90 a Starbucks coffee shop was installed and over the next few years, became a place of importance among the steel mill workers, the school teachers across the road, and those in desperate need of a coffee fix on their way back from Ohio or Michigan, or where ever their travels have taken them. This Starbucks, on WillowCreek road not only ushered in a new beginning for a border town, but a place for community.

Let's skip to 2007, the beginning of the fall, and the news is announced that yet another Starbucks will be opening off interstate route 6. At first this news is exciting to all of the partners involved, and to many of the people in the town. The store opening date arrives [after being pushed up initially] despite the fact that on route 6, construction isn't finished, and the new shopping mall is devoid of any real stores aside from a Menards [hardware/lumber store]. Many of the partners from the original Starbucks are transferred over, along with their store manager. Quickly however, this new store, in spite of its sprawling decor and elegant design and setup, wasn't generating much business. Partner hours were cut, and panic began to set in. Many of the partners who made the transfer, being with the company for a few years, began experiencing a labor shortage. Hours were slashed across the board. Partners comfortable with 32+ hours a week were give 11 hours, 8 hours, 16 hours, with only the shift supervisors keeping their weekly scheduled hours. Much of this is par for the course, it's what can tend to happen when a new store opens less then 2 miles away from another. This trend of labor shortage began infecting the original Starbucks on Willowcreek as they saw their weekly sales drop drastically.

The bad news wouldn't stop, for it was announced that a third Starbucks would be opening on the other side of Highway 94, further impacting sales of the first two. If you speak to any of the Starbucks employees abreast of the situation, you wouldn't be seeing smiles or a positive outlook. "how are we supposed to live?" one partner asked, a question managers don't know how to answer. It appears that because Starbucks offers such good and comprehensive insurance to their employees, that, it's almost an unstated rule, that because of said benefits, you are disqualified from making any critiques of the company as a whole.

For the sake of transparency, let's look at Starbucks average wages.

1. Barista : hired in at around 7.40 per hour [based on national averages]
2. Barista 2 : An increase of nearly one dollar USD after 6 months of employment

3. Shift Supervisor : begins at 9.40 per hour
4. Shift Supervisor : wage increased to 10.35 per hour after 6 months

5. Assistant Store Manager : 30,000 annually
6. Store Manager : 33,000

So, here's the quick math.

1. A barista is expected to be happy with and live well with 15,724 [taxes not excluded] annually per year, that's if they are averaging 36 hours a week, post the 6 month wage increase...minus tips, which, on average, would only increase this income by 1200 at best in some regions.

2. Shift Supervisor : Expected to make due with an annual income of 19,913 [taxes not excluded], with a weekly hourly average of 37, minus tips.

there is a 10,000.00 USD difference between what a shift supervisor makes and what an assistant store manager makes on average, with duties between the two positions being nearly identical sans monthly meetings and scheduling duties. 10,000 US DOLLARS.

Assistant Store Manager : 30-32,000 USD

Store Manager : 33-35,000 USD, a difference of only a couple of thousand dollars and yet their workload as store managers is DOUBLED.

This is the wonderful company everyone talks about? This is the company that loves their employees soo much that 15k is their estimate as what is enough to sustain their hardworking baristas? This is company that loves their employees so much that they are willing to have a pay difference of 10,000 between a shift manager and an assistant store manager? Something is amiss, and it’s not the partner.

We come back to Portage Indiana, that small town where Starbucks turned an opportunity into greed. Portage has no need for 2 Starbucks, let alone 3, and the people who suffer the most in the wake of such plans are the partners. Starbucks desires loyalty from their employees and yet, they are not inclined to stay loyal to their workers.

Let’s hope with the recent re-takeover of Howard Schultz, the Chairman of Starbucks Inc... a new dawn will rise. Until then, a few dozen employees, in a small town in Indiana, right outside Chicago will suffer, with no end in sight.

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