11 Feb 23rd–March 1st, 2023 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times | cONTeNTs | feeDBacK | OPiNiON | NeWs | feaTuRe | NighT+Day | culTuRe | film | cafe | music | Stirring the Pot NFL players rally with Starbucks baristas in Phoenix over union busting. BY KATYA SCHWENK O n February 11 — a day before the Kansas City Chiefs faced the Philadelphia Eagles at State Farm Stadium in Glendale — a small crowd gathered in the shadow of a Starbucks on Indian School Road in Avondale. It was an unlikely gathering: NFL players stood beside Starbucks baristas chanting into bullhorns and holding signs that read, “Hey, union-busting CEOs. Let’s play ball.” Last May, workers at the Starbucks in Avondale voted to form a union, joining the growing wave of Starbucks unionization around Phoenix and across the country. The movement, led by Starbucks Workers United, has not slowed in the Valley. In November, workers at multiple Starbucks stores around Phoenix went on strike for a day, shuttering at least one location. “We are here to stand in solidarity with workers at Starbucks,” said Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, one of the largest labor unions in the country. “We know that players on the field are workers, too. So what better than to bring together that solidarity as we head into this Sunday.” After all, Shuler said, the Starbucks workers attempting to unionize are “facing some of the most dirty union-busting tactics I have seen in a long time.” In December 2021, a Buffalo Starbucks became the first U.S. location to vote to form a union, and similar successful votes followed across the country — including at the Westwind Plaza store in Avondale. But since the votes, workers have struggled to get to the bargaining table, as the coffee giant stalls negotiations and, according to union leaders, retaliates against workers. Andrew Trull, a spokesperson for Starbucks, told Phoenix New Times that the company doesn’t engage in anti-union activity. “Our focus has, and continues to be, on working side-by-side with our part- ners to listen, learn, and reinvent the Starbucks experience. Our hope is the union would respect our right to listen to, collaborate with, and share information and our perspective with our partners — just as we respect their right to do so,” Trull wrote. During the February 11 event, baristas at the Avondale store, along with organizers with Starbucks Workers United and AFL-CIO leadership, were joined by a powerful ally: the NFL Players Association, the union that represents NFL players. “We are all workers fighting for the same exact thing,” said JC Tretter, presi- dent of the NFL Players Association and a former player with the Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers. “We will stand behind you as players until you get what you deserve, and that is better wages, better benefits, and better working conditions.” The timing of the rally on Super Bowl weekend — not far from the stadium in Glendale — was no accident. Shuler told New Times that the labor struggles behind the game are often forgotten. “There’s a lot of attention on the glitz and the glam of it, but underneath it — all those corporate sponsorships and the immense amount of capital that goes into an event like | NEWS | >> p 12 JC Tretter, president of the NFL Players Association, speaks to the crowd during a rally on February 11. Katya Schwenk
