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Carbondale Starbucks employees looking to unionize

Employees at Starbucks on East Main in Carbondale want Union representation, and have contacted the National Labor Relations Board.
Megan Brown
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Megan Brown
Employees at the Carbondale Starbucks. Photograph taken Friday May 27, 2022.

Workers at the Carbondale Starbucks on East Main street have notified the National Labor Relations Board they would like to be represented by a union. Megan Brown, has worked at the store for nearly 11 months and says she and her co-workers were inspired to do so after workers at a Buffalo Starbucks Unionized earlier this year. Among the reasons, Brown says, is higher pay.

"I think that's the reason that most people start organizing a Union. And I think that's what set Buffalo in motion, I think that's what set us in motion. But along with that, we also get the opportunity to, if other things come up, just working conditions in general we have the opportunity to bring those things to the forefront."

Union organizer, Mari Orrego says an election to actually form a union, takes place generally two to three months after the request is made. WSIU sent an email to Starbucks headquarters, but has yet to hear back.

Born in Newport, Rhode Island to a military family, Kevin Boucher traveled the country and the world at a young age before his family settled in Murphysboro, Illinois in 1976. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Radio-Television at Southern Illinois University (SIU) in Carbondale and worked in commercial radio before becoming the Traffic Manager at WSIU Public Television. Boucher has since earned a Master's degree in Professional Media & Media Management Studies from SIU's College of Mass Communication & Media Arts. He is an outdoor enthusiast who enjoys gardening and exploring the flora and fauna of the Shawnee National Forest and other beautiful natural areas across southern Illinois. Kevin is embarking on a new path with WSIU as the Community Engagement Producer for WSIU Radio. Look for Kevin's work on air and on line.
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