Workers, advocates say Charlotte is ripe for more employee unions to form
Some local workers and labor union advocates see a growing opportunity amid a pandemic and a wave of resignations for increased power in workplaces across North Carolina, the country’s second-least labor organized state.
In Charlotte, where the cost of living and rents are ever-increasing, some workers say organizing is essential for sustainable work — especially for employees on the margins, bearing the brunt of unsatisfactory pay and workplaces.
While data show union membership has fallen in the United States over the last century, some experts say the sliding numbers don’t show a full picture of what’s going on in North Carolina’s workplaces. Lingering effects of the pandemic have led to increased empowerment among some workers, even those without recognized unions.
In October, for example, non-unionized employees of a west Charlotte McDonald’s went on strike over the chain’s handling of sexual harassment allegations. Last week, workers at a Weaverville Wendy’s, near Asheville, went on strike over similar allegations.
In other local workplaces, unions are forming for the first time. Last month, the Mallard Pointe Starbucks in the University area became the first local Starbucks to announce a union campaign. Journalists at The Charlotte Observer announced a union in March and were recognized by management less than a week later.
Many of these protests and union campaigns are driven by marginalized folks and younger people, who have entered the workforce “caustic,” as one professor who studies labor organizing described them, after watching their parents struggle in the last recession.
“What Generation Z workers have seen through their parents and the economy as a whole is that large swaths of the working population for decades have fallen behind, while those at the very top, the 1%, have seen vast growth in their incomes and wealth,” said Marick Masters, chair of finance and accounting at Wayne State University in Detroit.
“What COVID brought in people’s minds was that they are really at the mercy of companies and events beyond their control, in terms of what their economic well-being will be,” Masters said. “And the only protection they might have is having some kind of a union.”
This week, for example, Charlotte city leaders announced proposed raises for employees after protests from workers who are unionized but cannot under state law form bargaining agreements with government employers. Earlier this year, unionized Piedmont Airlines flight attendants got raises, a signing bonus and more time off in a contract ratified months after they went on strike.
Unionizing at Starbucks
On Trey Bowen’s first day at work after transferring to the Mallard Pointe Starbucks eight months ago, cars were stalled at the drive-thru window for upwards of 10 minutes, with drivers waiting for their coffees. Customers are supposed to wait for only 45 seconds, according to Bowen.
“There were only a few people at the store that knew what they were doing, like really understood how to make drinks properly to keep drive-through times down,” the 20-year-old said.
Employees also weren’t trained on how to close the store effectively and were forced to deal with broken equipment, said Bowen, who has been working at Starbucks for more than two years. Like most other employees at the Starbucks location, Bowen is a UNC Charlotte student. He says managers often schedule them to work for shifts employees have previously said they can’t make due to class.
Those issues, among others, made a couple baristas eager to begin the process of unionizing in January, when Workers United, an American and Canadian labor union based in Philadelphia, reached out. The effort, according to Bowen, was led by several queer employees who say managers repeatedly used the wrong pronouns when addressing them. One has filed a lawsuit.
Queen City Nerve reported on the misgendering allegations in mid-April. Starbucks has refused to comment on those employee complaints.
The North Tryon Starbucks is the third Starbucks in North Carolina to announce a union drive.
Older employees at the store are more hesitant to support the union effort, Bowen said, but after workers announced their union drive and community members showed up in support, about four more joined in. Bowen said the store, which has about 30 union-eligible employees, needs to get a majority of workers to back the union effort before a union vote can be called.
They’re hoping to be part of nearly 200 stores in about 30 states fighting for higher wages, more hours and safer stores.
Just last week, workers at a Starbucks in Boone won the vote to unionize their store.
Since announcing the campaign, Bowen said Starbucks managers and corporate leaders have mostly ignored their efforts.
Through a corporate spokeswoman, Starbucks said, “(Employees) interested in a union does not exempt them from the policies that we’ve always kept. We respect our (workers’) right to organize.”
Labor organizing in Charlotte
Since Ashley Hawkins became president of the Charlotte-Metrolina Labor Council, the local labor council representing union members, a little over a year ago, there have been only a couple of newly organized workplaces in Charlotte.
Still, she says the conversation about labor rights is gaining traction, especially with younger Charlotteans.
“We’re a very important part of the conversation around how to make sure Charlotte is sustainable for working people, because as it is now, it’s not,” she said.
“Unions are super important in a state like North Carolina and especially in a town like Charlotte because if you look at the way business is done here… there’s very little representation of working people.”
City of Charlotte workers and union members protested last month in front of the government center for a wage increase and daily overtime pay. Some said they could no longer afford to live in Charlotte and are forced to leave the city for more affordable living.
Because of North Carolina’s labor laws, contracts between governments and unionized public employees are not allowed.
Though city workers did not receive the 10% wage increase they rallied for last month, the Charlotte city budget revealed at Monday’s council meeting included an 8% raise for all hourly workers, a 2% salary bonus for salaried workers, an additional $2 million set aside for workers who can’t afford to live in Charlotte, and various other bonuses and wage increases.
Hawkins first became involved with workers’ rights in 2009 when she joined the stagehands union IATSE Local 322 in Charlotte. Back then, she said, it was taboo to even use the word “union.”
But as the pandemic has laid bare inequities in the workplace, she said more local workers are realizing their power — especially young, marginalized workers who are affected most by poor policies and conditions.
Job loss disproportionately affects women, and low-wage workers are more likely to work without paid sick leave. People of color, women, and people of lower socioeconomic status are most likely to have front-line, essential positions that require in-person work — putting them at highest risk during the pandemic.
John Connaughton, professor of financial economics at UNC Charlotte, is skeptical of the protections unions can provide for semi-skilled workers.
“Labor unions do real well in an environment where everybody is doing the same job,” he said. “The economy is changing dramatically, and there are fewer and fewer semi-skilled jobs which lend themselves to union protections and benefits.
“It’s not the environment we’re in. Robots do that work now — not people.”
The national resignation percentage in January 2012 was 1.5%. A decade later, it has almost doubled to 2.8%. And labor force participation rates have also steeply declined in the past decade.
Connaughton also takes issue with the term “Great Resignation.” He says the numbers just represent a shift in work force demographics, as baby boomers retire and Generation Z, a smaller group of people, replaces them.
“We’ve got a real problem with this whole concept. It’s a very misplaced and misunderstanding of what’s going on in the labor market,” he said. “What’s happening is you’re having a lot of people leave the labor force, and more are leaving than are coming in. There’s no conspiracy about people not wanting to work.”
However, Masters, the Wayne State professor, said the data show people are more willing to quit their jobs — which puts employees at an advantage. “They’re not as fearful of losing their jobs,” he said.
‘Everyone walked out’
Union membership in North Carolina has followed national trends and has steadily declined since the 1950s, when one-third of all American workers belonged to a union.
Numbers dipped from 3.1% of workers in North Carolina represented by unions in 2020 to 2.6% last year. That’s second lowest only to South Carolina, where the percentage is 1.7%.
North Carolina, along with 27 other states, operates under a “right-to-work” law, meaning workers don’t have to join labor unions to benefit from contracts negotiated by a union. North Carolina is an “at-will” state, which means employees can be fired without cause or warning.
Black workers are more likely to organize than white workers and other people of color, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Center for American Progress said that labor organizing has long been important for communities of color, as unions help close wage gaps and decrease workplace disparities.
Even in workplaces without unions, examples are popping up statewide of employees taking collective action — like at the Wendy’s in Weaverville, where workers recently ended a week-long strike to protest after sexual harassment allegations against management.
“That’s why me and my coworkers all decided to strike, to protect each other,” employee Paris Gasperson said. “Going on strike isn’t something I would have chosen. But I think it’s the only way to finally get something done about this terrible situation.”
Tad Dolbier, whose business Tar Heel Capital owns several Wendy’s restaurants including the Weaverville location, said Wendy’s is taking the allegations “very seriously.”
“We were recently made aware of an isolated report by an employee including some serious allegations. We... are following our policy of conducting a full investigation into the matter,” he said in an emailed statement.
“We value every member of our team and keep an open dialogue with our people, providing multiple avenues to suggest changes or report concerns, and our approach is to resolve issues quickly and fairly.”
Gasperson, who is 19, has been working at different Wendy’s locations for three years, and has been working at the Weaverville site since December. She said she gets called in “every time” she has a day off.
“I’m 19, working almost 70 hours per week at Wendy’s,” she said. “Feeling safe and comfortable at work should be the bare minimum, and we don’t even get that.
“I was in the store when we decided to strike and walk out. Everyone walked out together, and it felt good.”
Dolbier confirmed that sometimes employees are asked to work on their days off due to staffing shortages in the food service industry.
“The pressure our team members at all levels feel as a result is a real challenge. It is normal to call to ask someone who is scheduled off for the day, whether they can come in to work outside of their initially scheduled hours,” he said. “Most employees appreciate the opportunity to increase their hours and pay. It is always up to their discretion whether they choose to work when requested.”
Masters said that, right now, he sees an opportunity for labor organizing to gain traction.
“It’s obviously something that people are looking at very, very seriously and they understand that this is not just a flash in the pan... And it only takes a few cases in which there are pivotal victories to have a snowball effect.
“That’s certainly what the labor movement is hoping for.”
