Hundreds of students at two local universities have signed petitions to remove Starbucks stores from their campuses.
In Westwood, students were expected to hand deliver a petition Tuesday to the board of directors for Associated Students UCLA with 700 signatures demanding the university terminate its licensing agreement with the coffee giant, the Los Angeles Daily News reported.
The petition is a show of solidarity with Starbucks employees across the country over what they claim are union-busting tactics by the company.
A similar petition in Riverside, also demanding that the university not renew its contract with Starbucks, was signed by students at UCR and was expected to be submitted Wednesday to Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox, according to the Daily News.
The move to unionize has grown nationally as employees at more than 300 Starbucks stores have joined Workers United to lobby for higher wages, increased staffing and consistent scheduling.
Over the past few years, Starbucks has been accused of intentionally closing stores and laying off employees who were trying to unionize.
The federal government may force the company to reopen 23 stores, including six in Los Angeles, after the National Labor Relations Board said they were closed to halt union momentum.
A Starbucks spokesperson told KTLA that none of the shuttered L.A. locations had employees represented by Workers United or were “known to have engaged in any union activity.”
“As a company, we respect our partners’ right to organize, freely associate, engage in lawful union activities and bargain collectively without fear of reprisal or retaliation — and remain committed to our stated aim of reaching ratified contracts for union-represented stores in 2024,” a statement read.
A worker at one of the Los Angeles locations told KTLA in December that employees were laid off as punishment for unionizing.
“Our district manager and our store manager had two-on-one meetings with our partners trying to give misinformation and dissuade our partners and intimidate them from unionizing,” the employee alleged.
Several universities nationwide, including Georgetown University in Washington DC, have already submitted petitions to remove Starbucks stores.
An effort to remove a Starbucks at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, was already successful. The company’s contract will not be renewed when it expires in 2025.