Employees at the Oak Bay Starbucks, located at 2182 Oak Bay Avenue have officially filed to join the United Steelworkers union (USW).
This comes amid a growing movement of baristas unionizing across the country in order to achieve fairness at work.
The Oak Bay Starbucks workers’ application was the next step in their journey to unionization, as they follow in the footsteps of now-unionized Starbucks locations in Ontario, including locations in Ajax, Kitchener, Waterloo and Toronto.
According to USW, these recent unionized locations underscore the momentum of Starbucks workers seeking better wages, fair scheduling and respect in the workplace.
“We’re pleased the Oak Bay Starbucks workers have chosen the USW to represent them,” said Scott Lunny, USW Western Canada Director.
“This is an inspiring step for baristas across the country who are organizing for better working conditions. When workers come together, they have the power to win real changes from fair pay to decent schedules and respect on the job.”
According to USW, the Oak Bay Starbucks workers have successfully reached the threshold for automatic union certification.
Now all they need is a decision from the BC Labour Board, which is currently pending.
Going forward, the USW wants to encourage employees at all Starbucks locations to join the movement, unionize and have an active hand in improving working conditions.
Though the organization’s roots were in representing steelworkers, USW now represents 225,000 members in nearly every economic sector across Canada.
