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Starbucks baristas union drive comes at key time
The effort to organize local latte-slingers could hurt the ailing chain
By Matt Snyders
Published on July 30, 2008
It was a typical, busy Thursday afternoon at the Mall of America's
first-floor Starbucks, and Erik Forman was four hours into his shift.
The slight, 23-year-old barista was soon approached by a vaguely
familiar face: Caroline Kaker, the chain's Bloomington-based district
manager.
She pulled him aside and led him to the adjacent Barnes & Noble. There,
she broke the grim news: You're fired.
Forman was stunned. Sure, two weeks earlier, he had shown up a half-hour
late and was issued a written warning. But that wasn't why Forman was
getting the ax today. Management decided to deep-six him after learning
that Forman had discussed the warning with co-workers.
