Starbucks Corp. and CEO Mr. Kevin Johnson,

People across Mercer County and New Jersey, including union members, want to unequivocally express that we support the workers at Starbucks Store 7853 in Hopewell! New Jersey has a proud tradition of worker and union organizing. As such, we are very familiar with the aggressive tactics corporations will often employ in an attempt to intimidate their workers from unionizing.

We have already seen your company do so at other locations around the country, and begin to do so in Hopewell. We are disappointed and indignant to see so many examples of your company disrespecting the workers in their employ. So we would like to make it clear- we will not tolerate any attempts to undermine or intimidate the partners at this store. We also denounce attempts to do so at other stores around the country, express support for the workers there, and call on those communities to continue supporting the workers at their local stores.

Starbucks has continued to record record profits during the pandemic, while simultaneously forcing workers to endure unsafe conditions, chronic understaffing, and consistent demands for increased productivity to compensate. Starbucks consistently brands itself as a progressive company. If you want to actually embody the values they claim to hold as part of their corporate DNA, you MUST stand aside from the unionization process and allow your "partners" to make their OWN decision, free from intimidation or influence from their employers.

As such:
We, the undersigned, demand that you, Starbucks, follow Non-Interference Principles that allow workers to organize their workplace free from fear of reprisal or intimidation:
1. The right to organize a union is a fundamental civil right essential to
democracy.
2. If partners choose to unionize, there will be no negative repercussions from
management.
3. Starbucks agrees not to make any implicit threats (lawful but unethical) or
explicit threats (unlawful).
4. If Starbucks holds a meeting with partners on company time to discuss
unionization, then the union may hold a meeting of equal length on company
time. This holds true for one-on-one meetings or any discussions that Starbucks
chooses to hold with partners during the union organizing effort. If Starbucks
posts any anti-union material on its premises, it will provide Workers United
equal space to post pro-union material.
5. Starbucks management must not bribe or threaten partners with higher or
lower wages or benefits to gain support. Management will not make changes in
wages and benefits that were not announced or decided upon prior to the
commencement of the union campaign.
6. Principled disagreements are part of the campaign process but disparaging
remarks about Workers United or the labor movement are not appropriate and
not conducive to a spirit of mutual respect and harmony and should not be
made. Additionally, ad hominem attacks against individuals are unacceptable.
7. If any partner feels they have been retaliated against in any manner due to
their union activity, Starbucks will agree to resolve this immediately by a
mutually agreed upon arbitrator. The partner would still have the right to go to
the National Labor Relations Board.
8. A secret ballot election will be conducted by the NLRB or, if both parties
agree, by an arbitrator or a neutral community organization. If at any time
Starbucks Workers United secures a simple majority of authorization cards of
the barista and shift supervisor partners within an appropriate bargaining unit,
Starbucks shall recognize Workers United as the exclusive representative of
such partners via a card check election.

We sincerely hope that you will embrace the progressive values you claim to hold dear, and put your workers first for a change. As any progressive will tell you: people are more important than corporate profits. It's about time you start taking those words to heart.

Respectfully,
Our Revolution Trenton Mercer and the undersigned