The Highs and Lows of Being a Starbucks Union Organizer

The Highs and Lows of Being a Starbucks Union Organizer

When we called Jacob Lawson, a 23-year-old Starbucks worker from Utah, he was on his way to another Starbucks store in Idaho to help them start a union. "It’s not too far from Utah. It's 150 miles, but I’ve driven further to help a store unionize," he told us.  By now, you've probably heard that the Starbucks union is having a moment. Since the first store successfully voted to form a union in 2021, more than 175 stores in 30 states have followed suit. The reasons for the union's success are varied — support from the established union, Workers United, and small store sizes make getting a majority vote simpler — but the Starbucks unionizing drive is also extremely collaborative, made up of mostly young people who talk to each other from stores across the country and share tips. For this episode, we invited a few of these workers to tell us what their experience has been like. I met Jacob Lawson, 20-year-old Laila Dalton from Phoenix, Arizona, and 33-year-old Benjamin South from Ithaca, New York over Zoom. When we talked on a Friday in early June, they were all experiencing different turns in the unionizing story, some victories, some defeats, and some very real consequences of going up against a multi-billion dollar company.

Episoder(150)

Drop Off: A 24-Hour Daycare's Struggle To Stay Open

Drop Off: A 24-Hour Daycare's Struggle To Stay Open

Lesely Crawford runs two daycare centers in Pittsburgh—both of which are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. "It's like a hodgepodge of craziness," she told me, as she described their sleeping arrange...

2 Sep 202030min

Books We Love: Inside The Bubble With Akwaeke Emezi

Books We Love: Inside The Bubble With Akwaeke Emezi

The third conversation in our "Books We Love" live Zoom series is with writer and artist Akwaeke Emezi. In the last two years, they've published three books: their critically-acclaimed debut, Freshwat...

26 Aug 202056min

"They Rely On Me": An Update From A USPS Mail Carrier

"They Rely On Me": An Update From A USPS Mail Carrier

The United States Postal Service has been in the news a lot in the past week, as national anxiety rises about the upcoming presidential election, mail-in ballots, and the Postmaster General's recent c...

19 Aug 202014min

This Senator Saved My Love Life

This Senator Saved My Love Life

You have to give it to some elected representatives—they really will respond to the letters you send. Or at least, Alan Simpson did when my boyfriend (now husband) Arthur sent a plea for help. We were...

12 Aug 202026min

What Keeps Wendell Pierce Up At Night

What Keeps Wendell Pierce Up At Night

Before the pandemic hit, actor Wendell Pierce was jetsetting around the world, filming scenes for the Amazon series Jack Ryan and starring in a London production of Death of a Salesman. But in March, ...

5 Aug 202031min

Rent Is Due Tomorrow

Rent Is Due Tomorrow

Today is July 31st—which means that for many of us, rent is due tomorrow. But we know from watching recent data that a lot of people won't be able to pay by that deadline. According to a recent survey...

31 Jul 20200s

Books We Love: A Big Conversation About "Big Friendship"

Books We Love: A Big Conversation About "Big Friendship"

The second conversation from our "Books We Love" live Zoom series is with authors and longtime friends Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman. They're the co-hosts of the podcast Call Your Girlfriend, and auth...

29 Jul 20200s

How Bobby Berk Became A Boss

How Bobby Berk Became A Boss

When Bobby Berk left his deeply religious home in rural Missouri at 15 years old, it meant dropping out of high school and figuring out how to pay for everything on his own. "I lived in my car, I live...

22 Jul 202029min

Populært innen Samfunn

rss-spartsklubben
giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
konspirasjonspodden
aftenpodden-usa
popradet
rss-nesten-hele-uka-med-lepperod
rss-henlagt-andy-larsgaard
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
wolfgang-wee-uncut
alt-fortalt
grenselos
synnve-og-vanessa
frokostshowet-pa-p5
rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
min-barneoppdragelse
rss-dannet-uten-piano
fladseth
rss-frekvens-med-anine-olsen
opptur-med-annette-og-ingeborg