Starbucks Baristas: The daily grind
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Calling All Partners (self.starbucksbaristas)
submitted by SBWorkersUnited
Hello Starbucks Baristas Reddit! We haven’t said much here as a group, but we wanted to come forward to talk about a national trend we’re seeing that’s affecting partners across the country.
Starbucks is slashing our hours for no good reason. As our union campaign has become a national effort, so has Starbucks’ manipulation of our schedules. For example, partners who typically work 30 hours a week are now being scheduled for only 10.
This underscores more than ever the need for a union, to ensure that we can have a voice in these decisions. The company’s survival doesn’t depend on cutting our hours, but our economic survival does. As we’re all well aware, many of us live paycheck to paycheck. We rely on this income to qualify for health insurance, pay rent, and buy groceries.
While we know that the beginning of the year is typically slower, long-term workers have never seen a nation-wide policy implemented to cut our hours. This isn’t just happening in a few places where business may be slow–it’s happening nationwide. Schedules that were already posted weeks ago are now being altered to reduce hours, with no warning. This is the same company that just boasted about making record breaking profits in the midst of a global pandemic. Sales are higher than ever. This is not about cutting costs–it’s about cutting us, the partners, from the company.
This policy is not only immoral, it’s bad business. We are the ones who make our stores run and make our customers happy everyday. We built Starbucks into the successful company it is today. Instead of cutting our hours, we suggest Starbucks’ cut their relationship with their union busting law firm, Littler Mendelson.
This is why we’re fighting for a union and our seat at the table. Management is giving us one more reason to go union. Bullying won’t work here. We’re standing up and standing strong.
We’re posting this to let partners know that this is happening nationwide, and it’s unacceptable. We’re gathering information to investigate this issue further! If this is happening to you or your co-workers, you can provide more information (that will stay anonymous if you want) to this email: $1
Solidarity,
SBWU Buffalo Organizing Committee
Starbucks is slashing our hours for no good reason. As our union campaign has become a national effort, so has Starbucks’ manipulation of our schedules. For example, partners who typically work 30 hours a week are now being scheduled for only 10.
This underscores more than ever the need for a union, to ensure that we can have a voice in these decisions. The company’s survival doesn’t depend on cutting our hours, but our economic survival does. As we’re all well aware, many of us live paycheck to paycheck. We rely on this income to qualify for health insurance, pay rent, and buy groceries.
While we know that the beginning of the year is typically slower, long-term workers have never seen a nation-wide policy implemented to cut our hours. This isn’t just happening in a few places where business may be slow–it’s happening nationwide. Schedules that were already posted weeks ago are now being altered to reduce hours, with no warning. This is the same company that just boasted about making record breaking profits in the midst of a global pandemic. Sales are higher than ever. This is not about cutting costs–it’s about cutting us, the partners, from the company.
This policy is not only immoral, it’s bad business. We are the ones who make our stores run and make our customers happy everyday. We built Starbucks into the successful company it is today. Instead of cutting our hours, we suggest Starbucks’ cut their relationship with their union busting law firm, Littler Mendelson.
This is why we’re fighting for a union and our seat at the table. Management is giving us one more reason to go union. Bullying won’t work here. We’re standing up and standing strong.
We’re posting this to let partners know that this is happening nationwide, and it’s unacceptable. We’re gathering information to investigate this issue further! If this is happening to you or your co-workers, you can provide more information (that will stay anonymous if you want) to this email: $1
Solidarity,
SBWU Buffalo Organizing Committee
SeparateAd3473 51 points 1y ago
Cutting hours isn’t the only issue. While we’re seeing less hours on our paycheck partners who CAN work and WANT to work aren’t being scheduled. The result is a store that is understaffed because corporate is forcing hours to be cut. A “fully staffed floor” suffers to run the store and if/ when people have to call in for illness the store falls a part. As a partner with years of experience in this type of work environment I’m becoming over worked! Our baby green beans with no experience are falling a part and who could blame them? I use to love working for Starbucks.. until they slashed hours on everyone to maximize profit. If this continues I will have to find employment elsewhere.
cleanthes_is_a_twink 3 points 1y ago
Dude, I worked at Starbucks for 3 months before I just could not take it anymore. There is no excuse for a person who had never been properly trained on bar to be soloing it, yet myself and other new hires would be pushed to that position constantly. Once, there was only myself and one other barista on the floor because the shift had to do the pull. The other barista, who was far more experienced than I was, didn’t get her lunch until closing time, and while she was in the back trying to do closing CS before then, I was the only person making drinks with an entire crowd sitting there staring at me with nobody to ask when I needed help with a recipe. That level of stress is ungodly.
Man, I quit in January and I’m still struggling with that unbearable feeling of wanting to projectile vomit at customers just to get them to go away. I get anxiety just thinking about Starbucks, and I was one of the people that was reliable on the floor! There was nothing rewarding about the time that I’d spent suffering in that crappy place.
Man, I quit in January and I’m still struggling with that unbearable feeling of wanting to projectile vomit at customers just to get them to go away. I get anxiety just thinking about Starbucks, and I was one of the people that was reliable on the floor! There was nothing rewarding about the time that I’d spent suffering in that crappy place.
SeparateAd3473 6 points 1y ago
Working for Starbucks is like being in a toxic abusive relationship. You desperately want to leave but you’re worried you can’t find better. In my case I’m starting school full time in August and I’m not sure if I can find a job that will be as flexible as Starbucks. I might start looking though.
cleanthes_is_a_twink 1 points 1y ago
I’ve been struggling, honestly. I refuse to go back in to food service so it really limits me. I don’t suffer from depression—I suffer from a lot of shit, but thankfully not that—but after quitting, I had nearly two entire months of slowly crawling down hill. So many years of my mental health progress just stolen from me like that :<
I’m crossing my fingers for this one retail job. I think that would be much healthier for me as a human being
I’m crossing my fingers for this one retail job. I think that would be much healthier for me as a human being
SeparateAd3473 3 points 1y ago
I have a full time job right now that supports me. Im a dental assistant with consistent hours and pay. Some states don’t require any schooling so if you’re interested it’s a good career. It pays more than Starbucks does and it’s a more dependable job. I’m in school for dental hygiene which requires an associate degree (about 2 years of schooling after gen eds) and double the pay as dental assisting out of the gate. I hope you find something that works for you because these jobs don’t pay the bills :(
MsMadcap_ 3 points 1y ago
I don’t know how a union is ever going to happen when any partner who is caught supporting a union is forced to separate (and oftentimes for reasons not related to union support, just so Starbucks can cover their ass). ☹️
SBWorkersUnited [OP] 4 points 1y ago
We now have more than 140 stores filing for elections. That's thousands of partners openly supporting a union, and we are making sure that any partner who faces retaliation is going to be able to make Starbucks face consequences through the NLRB.
MsMadcap_ 1 points 1y ago
How do I get our store to potentially become one of those filing for elections?
SBWorkersUnited [OP] 2 points 1y ago
email us @ $1 . We can connect you with a partner who has already done it, and/or an organizer who has been helping us!
imathrowayslc 3 points 1y ago
If you want hours my store has like 2 open shifts a day. Posted and open for coverage. No hours being cut here. I actually am hitting 26+ hours a week when I really only want to barely hit benefits.
I understand it is important to track, if there is a trend, but also important to get evidence from a broader sample set. Asking only those experience an issue will mean that it looks like 100% of the people you talk to are experiencing the problem, when reality could be much different.
I understand it is important to track, if there is a trend, but also important to get evidence from a broader sample set. Asking only those experience an issue will mean that it looks like 100% of the people you talk to are experiencing the problem, when reality could be much different.
Asleep-Individual-15 4 points 1y ago
It’s worth mentioning though, is your store in an area that’s suspected or potentially a risk for forming a union? I believe they are doing this in some of their biggest and most likely markets for new union attempts. So if that’s not your area then that’s why your hours haven’t been effected probably.
happybowlita83 2 points 1y ago
Same here, my hours haven't been cut this year other than what I requested. I know some SSV hours were cut a bit though I'm guessing we were going over on management hours.. Last year my hours were cut almost by half but I had accumulated hours for benefits from the previous weeks, and months. The year before that I was at another district that had higer sales and my hours were about the same as my average now. The store did have more partners, but the general rule for that district was no more than 1 SSV on the floor at a time and their avg. hours were 30-35 and baristas were 25ish or under, only over 30 when they'd cover shifts are peaks were also run with less people usually 5/6 (thwy truly loved go mode). Compared to the district I'm in now, we have 2 SSVs on the floor during peaks and they overlap with 3 from 8:30-11 most days, they usually get a weekly 35ish hours, baristas get about 30 or below, and our peaks usually have 8 people on the floor. It's rare when we have 7.
happybowlita83 0 points 1y ago
Before I left the previous district they had 2SSV work mornings or overlapping but the DM told the SM that wouldn't be a thing anymore and that management labor needed to be cut all year round. It wasn't a sbux thing it was a DM thing for sure. The store I was at ñast year was also told to cut hours by the DM, but the manager just wouldn't wouldn't budge and made the DM come a for about a weel during peaks to see why he wouldn't cut hours and the DM eventually saw how things went with a fully staffed store vs days when we had 1 or 2 call offs.
[deleted] -24 points 1y ago
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sheep_heavenly 15 points 1y ago
It looks like you might not be aware of the actual trends and communications in previous years versus this year.
You're right labor is always cut post holiday. Most stores see a modest reduction from December's labor to January's, and then again from January's to February. However, there's no communication on it usually and store managers are pretty open about the fact that sales are down therefore labor is down.
This year is different. We saw our typical labor cut, But this specific week and last week's, along with the coming weeks apparently, are specifically targeting non-coverage and also are being implemented nationwide even at stores that are gaining sales. We're seeing an unusual growth in revenue and profit that typically isn't seen during this quarter, and yet we're still losing labor. Losing even more than previous years even. It's also never nationwide, it's store by store and highly specific to the actual conditions at the store.
It should also be expected that if benefits are only available if you work 20 hours or more a week, you'd be able to be scheduled for 20 hours or more a week with the given availability that is decent. My store is seeing partners who previously got 38 to 40 hours a week now having as little as 12. It's not enough for benefits, it's not enough for rent, and we're not seeing any reduction in business. We're doing far more work with far less people.
It's not insulting anyone's intelligence to make connection where, if you know what you're looking for, there may be one. It is insulting to someone's intelligence to lie and say business is down and we always cut labor like this when it isn't and we don't.
You're right labor is always cut post holiday. Most stores see a modest reduction from December's labor to January's, and then again from January's to February. However, there's no communication on it usually and store managers are pretty open about the fact that sales are down therefore labor is down.
This year is different. We saw our typical labor cut, But this specific week and last week's, along with the coming weeks apparently, are specifically targeting non-coverage and also are being implemented nationwide even at stores that are gaining sales. We're seeing an unusual growth in revenue and profit that typically isn't seen during this quarter, and yet we're still losing labor. Losing even more than previous years even. It's also never nationwide, it's store by store and highly specific to the actual conditions at the store.
It should also be expected that if benefits are only available if you work 20 hours or more a week, you'd be able to be scheduled for 20 hours or more a week with the given availability that is decent. My store is seeing partners who previously got 38 to 40 hours a week now having as little as 12. It's not enough for benefits, it's not enough for rent, and we're not seeing any reduction in business. We're doing far more work with far less people.
It's not insulting anyone's intelligence to make connection where, if you know what you're looking for, there may be one. It is insulting to someone's intelligence to lie and say business is down and we always cut labor like this when it isn't and we don't.
DaddyGray69 -10 points 1y ago
Noncoverage hours are being cut because stores nationwide were taking advantage of the much more lenient non coverage budgets. In my area there were stores using 120+ non coverage hours some weeks. (20-25%of earned labor in some cases). There's a storein my district that was abusing non coverage to run 12 partner peaks on a fairly regular basis.
sheep_heavenly 3 points 1y ago
>There's a storein my district that was abusing non coverage to run 12 partner peaks on a fairly regular basis.
Okay, but I thought you were saying it was a routine labor cut due to post holiday business needs?
Regardless, I don't see the issue being "too much labor being used". Were they lounging around during peak? If not, that coverage was needed. If corporate wants to crack down on misappropriated hours they need to recognize that it was required to do business. They can either cut labor and therefore business productivity or they can properly address the system. It's Starbucks and we like money, so we'll do the former of course.
Okay, but I thought you were saying it was a routine labor cut due to post holiday business needs?
Regardless, I don't see the issue being "too much labor being used". Were they lounging around during peak? If not, that coverage was needed. If corporate wants to crack down on misappropriated hours they need to recognize that it was required to do business. They can either cut labor and therefore business productivity or they can properly address the system. It's Starbucks and we like money, so we'll do the former of course.
DaddyGray69 -2 points 1y ago
I've seen 4 partner plays get sub 45 second drive thru times. It was tight, but never have I worked a shift where I was like, "Yeah, I need 8 more people crowding around me."
zydr8te 9 points 1y ago
So if hours are cut as custom, why are there new hires? Shouldn't the store wait until they are busy to bring in beans?
DaddyGray69 -10 points 1y ago
Look at it from a business standpoint. If every store had the perfect number of people to give everybody the exact number of hours they wanted, call offs would completely cripple a store, even worse than they already do. There'd be nobody to call in, because they're all working exactly what they want already. Being a barista is not a job designed to be a career. It's an entry level position that can turn into a great career if you work hard and play your cards right. There are plenty of other jobs to work if you want full time hours at entry level.
[deleted] 6 points 1y ago
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[deleted] -5 points 1y ago
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