Labor Unions

Organizing con ict

Students grasp with recent unionization e orts

Jakob Polly pollyjak000@hsestudents.org

I think regardless of “ whatever job you work, [belonging to a union] is important,” sophomore Nate Oldham said.

On Dec. 9, 2021, amid poor working conditions and pay, a group of baristas at a downtown Starbucks in Bu alo, NY voted to unionize. is vote, being a catalyst for further union e orts, received national media attention. Nine months later, over 150 Starbucks locations across the U.S. have now voted to unionize. ese e orts have caught the attention of Starbucks corporate, who, according to the National Public Radio (NPR), has been accused of union busting, with Starbucks most recently refusing to count mail in ballots in regards to union membership. Union crackdowns such as this are certainly not novel nor infrequent, with Amazon similarly cracking down on organizing e orts a er a warehouse in Staten Island voted to form a union earlier this year. Given this organizing fervor, students such as sophomore Nate Oldham, a former Dunkin’ employee, believes it is best that this trend continues. “I think it’s great that they are unionizing,” Oldham said. “It’s really sad what they’re doing to their employees… but at the same time it’s helping bring a lot more attention to the issues that workers and employees of these large establishments go through.” Similar sentiments are shared by other students, such as Starbucks employee and senior Sophie Wilkinson, who believes that unions serve a much needed purpose in society. “If unions are even forming in the rst place, there’s obviously a problem that needs to be addressed,” Wilkinson said. With union membership in the U.S. having peaked in 1979 at 35%, membership has been declining ever since. According to e Encyclopedia of Strikes in American History, the stark decline in membership came from a general rise in Cold War neoliberal policies, which ultimately culminated in the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980. Nowadays, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that only 10.3% of American workers belong to a labor union. is trend has even come to a ect local labor unions, such as the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association (HSEA), an organizational body that represents teachers in the HSE school district. Despite belonging to the HSEA, history teacher Jenna Pritchard believes that they could do more. “ ey do collective bargaining,” Pritchard said. “ ey bargain with the corporation for salary and retirement and health insurance… but it has no teeth because Indiana is a right to work state.”

Starbucks workers rally for better working conditions in Seattle, Washington on April 23, 2022. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Like many other states, Indiana has outlawed mandatory union membership under so-called ‘right to work laws.’ Unlike teachers who remain largely unionized despite these laws, teenagers are o en le with little protection in their workplaces, which remain largely unorganized. While working at Dunkin’ in eighth grade, Oldham said he felt very unjustly treated. “When you’re 14, you [are not legally allowed] to work past seven, but they didn’t care about that,” Oldham said. “Sometimes it would be a school night and I’d be there until 10:00 p.m.… I couldn’t go home until I nished everything.” Although many may have negative feelings towards their workplace, some, like Wilkinson, do not feel that they have been targeted as a student. “Everyone is so helpful and genuine,” Wilkinson said. “I’ve heard that other locations run very di erently from ours, but it all comes down to management.” A er having become a teacher, Pritchard believes that belonging to a union has changed how she views labor as a whole. “Growing up… I thought of [union workers] as car manufacturers and electrical workers. I never was in one until I started teaching,” Pritchard said. “I see the advantages of bargaining. If you have an issue [the fact that] they will stand up for you, I think, is really important.” Similarly to Pritchard, Oldham feels that unions should play a bigger role in the modern workplace, especially in light of recent organizing e orts. “When you’re already struggling in life, and your only source of income is essentially bullying you, to have that union is something that I think is essential,” Oldham said.

Infographic by Jakob Polly.