Starbucks employees are fed up with low pay and now they’re fighting back. Striking employees are out and about all over the U.S. demanding higher pay. In most cases, this means $20 instead of the measly $15 per hour they’re currently receiving. They’re also asking for health insurance and better hours among other issues. A Virginia woman went and spoke to a Starbucks employee personally to ask her about why she’s out striking against the company. In doing so, it creates an important conversation and helps us understand why what they’re demanding is so imperative.
Consquilla Carey (@consquilla) went and spoke with Richmond, Virginia Starbucks workers who are currently on strike. She approached one worker with a sign that simply states, “We are all working class. Fight for those without your privilege.” She asks the worker, “What wage are you asking for?” to which she replies, “$20.” The worker goes on to explain that they start at $15 per hour. She said if Starbucks would accept their Union contract, it would be one day of Starbucks profits to pay workers that wage for the next four years. When they put it that way, it seems incredibly doable and greedy on Starbucks’ behalf.
Consquilla asks her next, “Do you get health insurance?” The worker explains that they do get health insurance but only if they work 20 hours a week. However, Starbucks found a way not to provide health insurance to workers. They’ll schedule workers for 19 hours a week so that they work just under what they would need to for them to be eligible for insurance. This is a disgusting tactic that many major retailers use so they can get out of paying their workers. In the end, the workers lose when they don’t qualify for health insurance and go without necessary benefits.
If places like Starbucks want to keep their workers, they’re going to have to come up with a feasible solution. So many workers out there just don’t make enough and it shows. The worker says Starbucks doesn’t want its employees to “access” benefits that they claim are accessible to so many. On top of this, they make it incredibly difficult for workers to access tuition reimbursement. With so few benefits on the job, why would workers want to stick around? It makes sense to me that they’d want to unionize.
Some commenters pointed out on Consquilla’s video that Starbucks is a “job for kids.” However, this is an unfair assessment. And why is it that one of the wealthiest companies out there is paying so little to its employees, who bring in the big bucks for them every single day? Another commenter stated, “It’s not about whether the job is ‘worth’ $20/hr. It’s the fact that SB can literally afford to pay their employees this wage and chooses not to. Corporate greed is the issue.” So many people just want to avoid this fact, though. They just want their coffee and care so little about the people behind the counter making it. I find that to be greedy.
