The point is that they *should.* Federal minimum wage in the United States is $7.25 an hour, meaning even at 40 hours/week you're pulling in less than $20k a year. Sure, factor in tips if your store does well, maybe you get an extra $1k a year.

When I left Starbucks, I was making $9.53 an hour. I could barely afford my apartment, and that was without having to pay car insurance, gas, university, or a big phone bill. I was on food stamps to support myself and my family at the time.

Starbucks currently barely scales to match cost of living in most places. Even with health insurance, it is difficult to afford needing any sort of health care (for example, I need to have my wisdom teeth pulled, but that will cost me $800 because I need general anesthesia).

Not to mention unionising covers so much more than increasing pay to a reasonable amount. It would include proper backing and representation for cases against bad management, wrongful termination, as well as possibly increasing aid/assistance for needy employees who literally can't afford the things they need.

Starbucks either needs unions or they need a drastic structure change.