Baristas at Columbia’s Wilde Lake Starbucks vote to unionize

Baristas at the popular Wilde Lake Village Center Starbucks recently voted to unionize.

In a 19-to-3 vote, the Columbia location’s workers voted to join Starbucks Workers United late last month.

Jassira Castillo, a shift supervisor at the Wilde Lake location, said she became interested in organizing because she loves her job and cares for her coworkers but realized they could not fix problems on their own.

The Wilde Lake Starbucks tends to be understaffed and shift hours are not consistent, Castillo said. To do their jobs well, she and her colleagues need better working conditions and protections.

“We’ve had each other’s backs this whole time and now it’s starting to feel like our voices matter,” said Castillo, who has been the shift supervisor for the last three years.

According to the union, the Wilde Lake location joins three other unionized Starbucks in Howard County: the Snowden River Parkway location in Columbia, the Shipley’s Grant store off Route 108, and a location off Baltimore National Pike in Ellicott City.

Wilde Lake is the 18th unionized Starbucks in Maryland. Nationwide, there are over 12,000 Starbucks Workers United baristas at nearly 700 locations, according to the union.

Melissa Diaz, a Starbucks spokesperson, said the company invests in its employees by offering industry leading pay and benefits, so its jobs are among the best in the retail industry. It also offers expanded tipping options, weekly pay and performance-based bonuses up to $1,200.

The national movement is working to provide baristas with higher wages, improved working hours, and stronger workplace discrimination and harassment policies.

“Throughout negotiations, we have remained focused on reaching agreements that support partners and strengthen the Starbucks experience,” Diaz said.

According to the union, Starbucks has been found guilty of over 400 labor law violations, with an additional 550-plus pending. The union would like to see those pending charges resolved.

“We deserve better communication, consistent staffing, transparency and support,” Annie Brown, a barista who’s worked at the Wilde Lake location for two years, said in a statement. “I’m excited to see everything we will achieve together.”