A Starbucks in northeast Alabama was closed Sunday after workers there organized a strike to protest working conditions and unfair labor practices, according to a statement released by Starbucks Workers United.
Workers gathered outside the coffee shop in Scottsboro, Ala. with signs. Carla Gonzalez, an employee at the store, said workers would not report for shifts Sunday, but would reopen as usual on Monday.
Gonzalez said employees at the location on John T. Reid Parkway are overworked because the store is understaffed. She said some employees have been unfairly fired from the store.
“Quite a few of us have been injured due to water leaks,” Gonzalez said.
She said members of the union have filed formal complaints against the company and hope the strike will bring owners to the bargaining table. The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Scottsboro Starbucks became the second in the state to unionize after a close vote last year. The workers are part of a nationwide movement to organize workers at the popular coffee chain. Starbucks Workers United represents about 8,500 employees at more than 350 stores nationwide, according to their website.
Members of the union have filed numerous complaints against Starbucks. In one recent case, a federal appeals court ruled that the company should hire back seven workers at a location in Memphis who supported the union.
A store in Birmingham became the first to unionize in 2022. Only the Birmingham and Scottsboro stores have unionized in Alabama.
