WHEREAS, Starbucks Workers United, a national movement to organize and support labor unions at Starbucks locations in the United States, has achieved multiple successes on behalf of Starbucks employees in 2021 and 2022; and

WHEREAS, the members of Starbucks Workers United and other union organizers have built upon several previous attempts to form Starbucks unions in the United States since the 1980s, as well as Starbucks union movements in Canada, Chile, and New Zealand; and

WHEREAS, in response to understaffing, undertraining, and changes in working conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic, employees at the Elmwood Avenue Starbucks in Buffalo, New York, voted in late 2021 to form a union, becoming the only unionized Starbucks out of approximately 9,000 locations in the United States at the time; and

WHEREAS, by mid-April 2022, employees at more than 220 Starbucks stores across the country, including stores in the Commonwealth, had expressed interest in holding union elections and at least 20 stores had successfully voted to unionize; and

WHEREAS, many union organizers and members of Starbucks Workers United are longtime Starbucks employees who are highly motivated to enhance working conditions and compensation for their fellow employees and future generations of Starbucks partners; and

WHEREAS, Starbucks union organizers have achieved better working conditions and greater accountability at Starbucks stores across the country, while promoting justice, equality, and a positive vision for the future of all Starbucks employees; and

WHEREAS, the staff members of the Huntsman Square Starbucks in Springfield, including Gailyn Berg, Megan Gaydos, Claire Picciano, and Tim Swicord were inspired by union movements at other Starbucks locations to hold their own union election; and

WHEREAS, the union organizers at the Huntsman Square Starbucks advocated for the need for higher wages, the ability for customers to tip more easily on credit card readers and the Starbucks mobile app, more consistency and transparency in scheduling, and enhanced employee safety measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the need for a larger location to accommodate increasing business; and

WHEREAS, while the initial union vote at the Huntsman Square Starbucks was unsuccessful, the union organizers at the Huntsman Square Starbucks intend to seek additional opportunities to enhance benefits and workplace safety for their fellow employees; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That Gailyn Berg, Megan Gaydos, Claire Picciano, and Tim Swicord, union organizers at the Huntsman Square Starbucks in Springfield, hereby be commended for their efforts to provide employee representation and enhance labor rights; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare copies of this resolution for presentation to the union organizers at the Huntsman Square Starbucks in Springfield as an expression of the House of Delegates' admiration for their important work on behalf of Starbucks employees.