Starbucks staff tries to unionize in Quebec City
Submitted on Fri, 07/31/2009 - 2:17pm
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Originally posted at CBC News, Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Employees at a Starbucks franchise in Quebec City filed a request to unionize with Quebec's labour relations board on Monday.
If successful, they would become the first workers employed by the coffee chain to unionize in the province.
Employee Simon Gosselin said the move was sparked when Starbucks made "unfair" changes to working conditions. He said the staff, comprised of mostly student workers, was being forced to work at least 24 hours a week or be fired.
“I was working between 12 and 16 hours, most of the employees were doing it as well, and none of us will be able to do that anymore,” said Gosselin.
The workers have aligned themselves with the Industrial Workers of the World, a large international union that has butted heads with Starbucks in the past.