On a drizzly Labor Day morning, students, community leaders and Ithaca residents gathered on College Avenue for a rally hosted by Starbucks Workers United in support of the Ithaca Starbucks’ efforts to unionize.
In April 2022, Ithaca became the first city in the United States to unionize all Starbucks locations. The movement was sparked in August 2021 by actions in nearby Buffalo, New York where workers voted to unionize the first Starbucks in the country.
Ithaca workers were motivated to unionize in October 2021, but in June 2022, management closed the Collegetown location, claiming that it made little sense to continue operating with ongoing issues regarding the condition of the store. The workers claim this was in retaliation for their unionization. Taking place in front of the now-closed Collegetown Starbucks, the crowd included members of SBWU, members of the Ithaca Democratic Socialists of America and the Ithaca Tenants Union. The rally featured speeches from Ithaca Starbucks workers and community leaders and was followed by a parade from College Avenue to Ithaca Commons.
In his speech, Evan Sunshine ’24, a former Collegetown Starbucks employee and SBWU organizer, noted that the College Avenue workers took action in October 2021 when their manager was forced to quit due to poor working conditions involving upper management.
Sunshine and his coworkers learned of Stephanie Heslop, a worker at the Starbucks on Ithaca Commons, and became aware of her efforts to unionize the store.
Following months of effort by organizers, Ithaca becomes the first city in the United States where all Starbucks locations are unionized, but employees still express concerns over working conditions.
The Starbucks locations around Ithaca are unionizing to demand safer work environment in the midst of the pandemic and better wages. The movement is growing in size as workers come together to form solidarity.
I never leave home without my phone, wallet, keys, water bottle and coffee mug. Those last two items have become essentials on campus. Before I left for college, I was gifted a fourteen-ounce stainless steel carafe by my mom, who supported my coffee consumption. As soon as I set foot on campus a year and a half ago, I began drinking coffee almost daily. According to an article in The New York Times, coffee in moderation is associated with lowered risk of mortality and was included in the 2015 dietary guidelines as part of a healthy diet.
There is one issue, though — with so many options for a matcha latte here on campus, where should you go to spend your money and what places should you avoid? If you are obsessed with matcha lattes already and want to learn which place is the best around, or if you want to try it but don’t know where to start, this is your guide.
To be clear, this is not an article on the morals of going vegan. For my purposes, I really don’t care about the ethical background of not eating animal products. I care about weighing the costs and benefits and documenting my week-long vegan journey.