Employees of a Starbucks in Miami Springs are joining the push to unionize.
This location, located at 52 Curtiss Parkway, would be the second in South Florida to file with the National Labor Relations Board to start the unionization process. In February, employees at a Starbucks in Hialeah formally filed for an election with the NLRB.
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"What we’re doing here is trying to level that playing field so they have to consider our concerns at an equal level," barista Christian Miranda said.
The employees want to unionize to resolve issues such as low wages, benefits and overworked baristas.
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"I think for the amount of work we do and the increased workload, because of the pandemic, the amount of mobile orders and Uber orders that we’ve been taking on has increased significantly and our wages have not reflected that increased workload," Miranda said.
Shift supervisor Shawn Pardillo says it’s the customers who suffer when the issues workers face aren’t resolved.
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"For guests at the store, it’s going to be a better experience because currently we’re not able to give customers the attention they deserve because we’re constantly overworked and constantly overstressed," Pardillo said.
Pardillo added employees don’t feel like they’re being heard and they believe there’s power in numbers — they say they want what’s best for their store and for their customers.
"We’ve been trying to have our store remodeled, get new machines but nothing’s happened," he said.
On top of that, workers' hours are being cut and they’re struggling to meet the minimum required for benefits.
"We hope they respect our desire to unionize to amplify our voice within the company and we hope that they do so in good faith," he said.
Starbucks did not return requests for comment Monday night, but told NBC 6 back in February regarding the Hialeah store: "From the beginning, we’ve been clear in our belief that we are better together as partners, without a union between us, and that conviction has not changed. Starbucks success—past, present, and future—is built on how we partner together, always with our mission and values at our core."
As of last week, six Starbucks restaurants have voted to unionize in recent months, and more than 100 other locations are waiting to cast their ballots.
