CLEVELAND — Following the lead of an upstate New York location, a Cleveland Starbucks could become the first in Ohio to unionize.

What You Need To Know

  • A Starbucks location in downtown Cleveland filed a petition to unionize

  • The store could become the first Starbucks in Ohio to unionize

  • The employees are asking for increased pay, improved COVID-19 protocols and updated training processes

Maddie VanHook has worked at the Starbucks in downtown Cleveland for nearly a year. She said that in that time, she has grown close to her coworkers and enjoys the job she does.

"It can sometimes be rough, but most of the time it's fun," said Van Hook. "It's fun to be the first person people see in the morning before they go to work and give them that little caffeine boost they need to get through the day." 

Even though VanHook likes her job, she said there are still some changes she'd like to see. She gives that as the reason she and her coworkers wrote a letter to the Starbucks president, saying the location on West Sixth Street wants to unionize. 

"We honestly just kind of started with having conversations with each other, like, really casually, like, 'Hey, you know what do you think about what's going on? Like where do you stand?' and then a couple of us were like, 'Hey, you know we could actually do something about this,'" said VanHook.

VanHook said they want more pay, better COVID-19 protocols and an updated training process. 

"To just have that support and representation within the company and just kind of lift, you know, ourselves and each other up from just being like an employee to actually being, feeling, like we're more of an integral part," said VanHook.

Some of Ohio's elected officials are also weighing in on the petition. Sen. Sherrod Brown, Rep. Tim Ryan, and Cleveland Councilwoman Rebecca Maurer all tweeted their support of the employees something. VanHook said this means a lot.

"It feels very big and it feels very ​empowering," said VanHook.

VanHook said there are two things that could happen next: either the store employees will vote to unionize or Starbucks will recognize them as a union. There's no timeline on when that could happen, but for now they're waiting to hear back from Starbucks.

Starbucks locations in other cities, like Boston, Chicago and Seattle, have also petitioned to form a union.

As a response to Spectrum News' request for a comment, Starbucks sent a previously-released statement that reads:

As Rossann Williams, president of Starbucks North America, recently shared with partners regarding our path forward, “Our commitment to each of you is that we will always stay true to our Mission and Values. We stand for fairness and equity for our partners. We stand for growing and learning together. We stand for the Starbucks Experience, and building a company together where partners and the business can thrive and share success. And, most importantly, we always stand together as one Starbucks. Always.”