Negotiations stall for Starbucks union contract

Jaysin Saxton, who was fired from an Augusta Starbucks for leading a union protest, recently traveled to Memphis to celebrate the re-instatement of seven Starbucks workers fired in retaliation for union organizing. But while the reinstatement in Memphis is a victory, Saxton said, the union has seen little progress in Augusta — he is no closer to reinstatement himself, and there has been no progress on negotiating a contract.

"Real talk, the last couple of months have been kind of rough," Saxton said in late October. "For a while there, I didn't have health insurance for my daughter, you know I've just just been doing like DoorDash and working with the union and getting paid by them."

Previously:Augusta Starbucks union organizer fired for 'March on Boss' prior to strike

And:Labor leaders believe Georgia's growth, emerging EV sector, a good sign for unions

In April, the Starbucks at 228 Robert C Daniel Jr. Parkway voted to unionize, the first in the state to do so. Saxton lead the organizing, and a "March on the Boss" to share a list of demands with managers in July, when management declined to hear them out the workers kicked off a strike. In August, Saxton was fired for his actions during the March.

Neither email with detailed questions or a phone call to Starbucks were returned by deadline.

The Memphis Seven reinstated

The rally in Memphis came after the "Memphis Seven" were ordered reinstated by a federal judge who found their firing in February violated federal labor law. Saxton said their firing was the first time workers in Augusta — then working on organizing their union campaign — had heard about retaliation from the company. The rally to celebrate the Memphis Seven's reinstatement was memorable.

"That was wild," Saxton said. "That's the first time that I've gotten to talk to partners that have been reinstated, and just kind of find out how Starbucks is treating partners that are being reinstated. You know, got to talk to the Memphis Seven, got to speak, and listen to other fired partners speak as well, and talk about their experiences and talk about why we need to keep fighting."

He is not sure whether he would want to be reinstated if a similar decision came down for his case.

"That's something I've been debating a lot in my head," he said. "I lean more towards not wanting to be reinstated, and the reason for that is because Starbucks, the 'woke, progressive' company of Starbucks, just completely obliterated my like, belief in supposedly good companies wanting to do good things." 

Saxton maintains that his firing was unjustified. According to the separation notice, Saxton was cited for blocking an exit, blocking the customer drink area, and using his keys to open the store when he was not scheduled.

"I was off the clock, I was a customer at that point," Saxton said. "Like, I didn't even work that day, I was just the customer. And you're punishing me and firing me for something, as a customer."

Saxton said that after his firing in Augusta a store manager got into a physical altercation with her mother in the parking lot of the store while working, he said Starbucks has not acted on the incident. Richmond County Sheriffs provided an incident report for the altercation, which was called in as a mental health call. There is no information in the report about any assault.

Across the State 

Saxton is still the union representative for the store to Workers United, the union that has won elections at over 250 stores across the country, but after being fired he could no longer serve as the shop steward for the Augusta location. Negotiations with Starbucks over a contract have stalled.

"A few stores have met with Starbucks in other parts of the country," said Camden Mitchell, union representative from the Southern Regional Joint Board of Workers United, although most of those negotiations have also stalled out. "In the south, we haven't gotten any response beyond the initial form email."

Saxton said his store was supposed to begin negotiating a contract on Oct. 25, but never heard back from Starbucks. 

There are just three unionized stores in Georgia, the other two are in Atlanta. No other stores have publicly announced they are seeking a union election at the moment.

According to Mitchell, Saxton and another Augusta worker, Laethon Bumgardner, are the only two who have been fired allegedly for participating in the union, although some other leaders have since quit. The two firings are the only incidents in the state where the union has filed a formal complaint, or unfair labor practice, with the National Labor Relations Board, Mitchell said.

"If I could give any advice to anyone thinking about working at Starbucks, or being a customer at Starbucks, you know, just know what you're in for," Saxton said. "Because if you're working there, unless you have a union, unless you have a contract, they are not going to respect you, they're not going to actually appreciate you. And as a customer, you know, you have to understand that  ...  there's a huge component missing within Starbucks's model, and it's that they don't care about their workers."