Retail Watchers

The unionized Starbucks cafe was closed. The cafe shares a building with the QFC supermarket. The QFC will take over operations of the cafe.

https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/new ... ampaign=yh

I hope the NLRB investigates post haste!

I know that QFC stores are union. So I am wondering how the benefits compare to corporate Starbucks stores that become union. So I am wondering if this is a wash. Although I am sure that the existing baristas would have to re-apply with QFC.

veteran+ wrote: ↑August 24th, 2022, 4:46 am I hope the NLRB investigates post haste!

Why? Going with QFC these employees will be in the far stronger, more legitimate UFCW. Seems like a win for the employees to me.

Supermarket cafes are staffed by fewer employees. They are shorthanded and the wait time could be longer. There were 11 employees previously, but QFC would probably staff fewer employees.

The same thing happened here in Portland at the Hollywood West Fred Meyer store several years ago. Fred Meyer took over the Starbucks location that was on the outside of their store and closed the in-store Peet's location. This was probably 5 or so years ago. Nothing really changed just the POS system and the employees had FM name tags. Don't always assume this is related to union busting. It may be due to other issues but the media and prounion folks will say otherwise without knowing any facts.

babs wrote: ↑August 24th, 2022, 9:41 pm The same thing happened here in Portland at the Hollywood West Fred Meyer store several years ago. Fred Meyer took over the Starbucks location that was on the outside of their store and closed the in-store Peet's location. This was probably 5 or so years ago. Nothing really changed just the POS system and the employees had FM name tags. Don't always assume this is related to union busting. It may be due to other issues but the media and prounion folks will say otherwise without knowing any facts.

Somewhere else in a Seattle suburb, I came across a Starbucks next to a QFC many years ago where it appeared they had taken over a corporate Starbucks based on the layout, that the space had its own restrooms, and the finish work inside (counters, tables, restroom tile job, etc.). It was staffed like any other Starbucks and as babs says the only real difference was the cash register.

Also don't forget those multiple Haggen locations that Starbucks operated cafes in, and the operations were slowly turned over to Haggen over the years.

Starbucks has a history of doing this. This is not the first time they have done this. The grocer taking ownership is unionized under a rather powerful and well established union.

Starbucks opens and closes stores fairly often actually.

I have also seen Starbucks close multiple corporate stores over the years and leave a nearby Safeway unit as the only Starbucks in a given area. Over a decade ago they closed their unit at Vista and D'Andrea in Sparks and the unit inside Safeway continued. Not long after they closed a freestanding unit in Fallon and the unit inside Safeway continued. Around the same time they closed a unit in Mammoth Lakes and the Vons unit across the street continued. More recently they closed a strip mall unit in Truckee and the Safeway unit continued in that strip mall.

storewanderer wrote: ↑August 24th, 2022, 8:39 am

veteran+ wrote: ↑August 24th, 2022, 4:46 am I hope the NLRB investigates post haste!

Why? Going with QFC these employees will be in the far stronger, more legitimate UFCW. Seems like a win for the employees to me.

That's not the point.

Attempts to union bust is against the law.

Yeah, and BTW, I am very Pro Union even though they need improvement. Rather be Pro Human than Pro Company (or business).

veteran+ wrote: ↑August 25th, 2022, 7:10 am

That's not the point.

Attempts to union bust is against the law.

Yeah, and BTW, I am very Pro Union even though they need improvement. Rather be Pro Human than Pro Company (or business).

They are closing the location. As they close many locations every year. Hundreds of locations. And they have a history of this closure activity for decades.

While I do find it an odd peculiar and more than slightly suspicious coincidence they opt to close locations that are organizing unions or voted in unions, I am not sure anyone will be able to fight this based on the company's past closure activity.

It is possible that Starbucks is planning on converting many corporate Starbucks to licensed locations. If there is a supermarket nearby Starbucks would want to cut labor costs and have a supermarket take over all of those locations.

Perhaps Starbucks wants to go to a franchise model like McDonald's where there are very few corporate stores and they get independent owners to run the cafes. This way Starbucks saves money on labor and still makes a profit on food and drinks.