(Dakota Broadcasting News – ABERDEEN, S.D.) The 7th Avenue Starbucks in Aberdeen has filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board seeking to unionize the store. According to a press release from Starbucks Workers United, this is the first Starbucks store in the state of South Dakota to file for unionization.
“I’m just a college kid and Starbucks was just supposed to be a part-time job, but I fell in love with it — the people, the community, the job itself, and keeping coffee and conversation flowing no matter how busy we got.” Demi Waldner, a barista and organizer at the Aberdeen store said. “As much as I loved the job, however, I’ve watched over the past two years as we’ve worked skeleton crews with no reward but the same thing the next day — and the next, and the next. I love the fast-paced environment and thrive in it, but I can’t run my floor when I’m also doing the work of two people at once. We deserve better than this, and we’re prepared to fight to get it.”
So far, over 300 Starbucks locations in 38 states and the District of Columbia have successfully unionized.