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Over the last decade, Daniel Thompson has worked at various Starbucks locations along the West Coast, but has called the drive-thru coffee shop on Iowa and King home for about four years. 

After watching the company he loves change throughout his 9.5-year tenure, he’s ready for a seat at the table. Rising expectations, high turnover rates and cuts to hours mean baristas and shift supervisors, like Thompson, are dealing with more pressure and less support. Some of the employees are trying to change that, announcing plans to unionize . 

“The things that we went through from the pandemic have been a catalyst for all this,” Thompson said. “The culture and sense of community is still there, but the expectations of us have changed exponentially.”

Of the 30 or so employees at the Iowa and King location, 11 signed the letter announcing the unionization efforts. 

One of the 11 signatories is Shannon Butler, a Western Washington University student and a barista at the Iowa and King location.

While many Bellingham residents have stopped by to offer support to the employees, Butler says the Seattle-based company has been less than enthusiastic about the efforts. 

“They’re asking us to vote no, because they believe that the problems that we’ve brought up would be best solved with a direct connection instead of a union,” she said. “From our experience, we have expressed a lot of our concerns … but no changes are made.”