Wow. Outstanding article. I guess it took a totally fucked up election for The Stranger to start kicking ass again. OK, maybe that isn't fair; Connor Kelley has written other really good articles. But this, coming only a week after Marcus Green's excellent essay about race, gender and politics? Renew my subscription, Please! (And cancel the one for the Washington Post).

Anyway, this is the issue of our times, but the morons -- sorry, low information voters -- didn't get it. This country was built on unions and breaking up monopolies. It is what allowed us to build the greatest middle class the world has ever known. Even Jon Talton and Charles Mudede agree on that. But the New Deal era was destroyed by Reagan and we've been living in the ruins ever since.

Until Biden. Biden resurrected the New Deal policies in ways that most Americans are oblivious to (https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/07/bidens-greatest-strengths-proved-his-undoing/679179/). Experts consider him the most pro-union president since FDR (https://www.govexec.com/management/2024/05/bidens-labor-report-card-historian-gives-union-joe-higher-grade-any-president-fdr/397002/). Part of the challenge is to expand what is historically been considered a union job (at least in this country). If you make a car or plane you are probably in a union. If you make a sandwich or latte, you probably aren't. Biden (and his people) have basically said: Fuck that shit.

Which is why it is tragic that he (or his anointed successor) did not win the election. Working people may very well be screwed (once again). Companies like Starbucks may very well tell workers to fuck off, while they await someone more "business friendly". It is essential for people to continue to read articles like this one so that the rich, greedy mother-fuckers don't get away with it.

@1: It is essential for people to vote for the candidate that will best meet their needs, not fulfill their every wish—Democrats fall in love, Republicans fall in line.

@1: The unionization of Starbucks ruined its ambiance. Starbucks are not happy places to go to anymore.

If Starbuck workers don't like working there, why don't they take another jobs somewhere else. No one is forcing them to work at Starbucks.

“If you make a car or plane you are probably in a union. If you make a sandwich or latte, you probably aren't”

One is a career that requires specialized skills and can create a lifetime of employment. The other is a low skilled job you do to make money and should be a short term stop on the way to something better. Unions serve a role with the first but not so much with the second.

@5 Never heard of a grocery store union before, eh? Some of which literally have Starbucks or other coffee shops inside of them even...

@1, Connon Kelley is intellectually inconsistent. He celebrates in "This Week in Labor Conquests," reported successes by workers in stopping their employer from unilaterally imposing something that the employer wants, except when the employer is the government. When a Starbuck's worker is reinstated with back-pay it's a labor conquest. When a public employee is reinstated with back-pay, silence from Connor, while is separately vilified elsewhere in The Stranger.

You are either for workers controlling their work environment, prevailing in disciplinary actions, or your not. You are for the employer being able to unilaterally determine working conditions, or you aren't. It's a zero sum game, where the more control one side has, the less the other side has. Which is it Connor? Which is it The Stranger?

IMHO, Unions SUCK!!
The only thing worse than a Union is needing one and not having one to help you fight for justice. It is called collective bargaining, so all get fair treatment from anyone in power, or at least that is the model it gains traction upon. They can be a great equalizer, unless or until the folks in charge of the Union fail to address the needs of their membership.
Sort of like the U.S. Government.

@TheStranger, been looking on your website for news about the Seattle Art Museum's

@TheStranger, excuse my post #9, my first attempt and I don't know how to edit/delete it. That said:
I've been searching for any Stranger coverage of the Seattle Art Museum's VSO Union's (Security workers) struggle to get recognition from the SAM board and administration. Maybe I'm just not finding it? The union has been negotiating for over two full years, but SAM continues to use union-busting and delaying tactics hoping to wear down the employees who had to create their own union because SAM blocked them from joining any other service unions. The Stranger is obviously concerned with workers' rights and supporting the arts (even when it sometimes serves as a way for the 1% to display their personal collections to their wealthy buddies) -- so how about some coverage for this extremely local struggle for a living wage? Check out SAMVSOUnion on Instagram.