The Starbucks on King Ave West in Billings is voting to unionize.
LEARN MORE:
"It's brought everyone back to a point where it almost feels like we have hope again for coming to work," said Starbucks Coffee Master, Allysha Biggs.
Allysha Biggs is a Coffee Master at the location and says her effort to join Starbucks Workers United is aimed at making things fair at the workplace, and also reducing turnover.
"We're not doing it for an extra wage or anything like that. We're doing it to have a better environment in general and to have support from leadership because that's something we've been lacking in the last year," Biggs said.
We reached out to Starbucks corporate for a statement on the matter, and this is what a spokesperson from the company had to say:
“At Starbucks, our success starts and ends with our partners (employees). 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. Any agreement needs to reflect the reality that Starbucks already offers the best job in retail, including more than $30 an hour on average in pay and benefits for hourly partners. The facts show people like working at Starbucks. Partner engagement is up, turnover is nearly half the industry average, and we get more than 1 million job applications a year."
Customers we spoke to say they're fans of the effort.
"I think it's a great idea because they have rights. Larger companies can impede their employees' rights without proper representation. Also, they don't think about the little guy, and that gives a big voice to the employees that everyone's going to be treated fairly and paid well,” said William Willis, a frequent customer.
If the union vote passes, this Starbucks will be the third store to unionize in Montana. The other two are in Missoula.
When Biggs decided to pursue unionization, she found the process to be simpler than she thought.
"A lot of it has been blown out of proportion or made to be scarier than it is. I think it's very reasonable that we can come to negotiations and a good contract between us and corporate, where no one has to lose,” said Biggs.
The vote is expected to pass in favor of unionization on Thursday evening.
