Recommendation to request City Attorney to prepare resolution to support fair and free union elections for Starbucks workers in Long Beach.
Thank you. We're going to go ahead and go back now to item 29. Communication from Councilwoman Allen, Councilwoman and has Vice Mayor Richardson recommendation to request city attorney to prepare a resolution to support fair and free union elections for Starbucks workers in Long Beach. Councilman Allen. Yes. Thank you, Mayor. I want to start by clarifying that we submitted this item on Friday prior prior to the vote totals being announced. And the Starbucks and Belmont Shore is still in the process now are preparing a union election. And we want to support them and we want to support all the workers across our great city. So now to get now to the to the good part, I want to say congratulations to the Starbucks at Seventh and Redondo on their unanimous ballot last Friday. Just great job. I know that we have Mads and Taylor here and some others are here. So thank you for being here tonight. I just want to say that your courage in defying an international corporation who has already deployed harmful and possible illegal union busting tactics is commendable. Our community and our council stand up for workers and for local protections. And your example will hopefully inspire workers across the city and across the region. I just want to say thank you to Vice Mayor Richardson and Councilwoman Zendejas for joining me on this item. I know both of you have always supported a worker empowerment. I also want to challenge our entire council to support the fundamental rights of workers to organize. With the unanimous vote on this item. I'm happy when we get to support people empowering themselves, empowering their families, and empowering their communities. And I am definitely personally energized by all the work that's been done by the organizers and this item. I submitted covers, but everything I submitted covers most of my thoughts. And. But it doesn't start here. A union is a tool by which workers can directly hold their distant corporate leaders accountable for good working conditions, equitable pay and treatment. And it directly is a tool of democracy and the empowerment of people locally. So to the brave Starbucks workers from Long Beach and Lakewood in the audience tonight, thank you for your courage and thank you for your example. Thank you, Councilwoman. Vice Mayor Richardson. Sure. Thank you. That was beautifully said, Councilwoman. I agree. I think all work has dignity and something I believe. You know, I've seen what it's like to have, you know, a parent, you know, raising a household parent with a good union job while still seeing what it's like to have a parent who works fast food. My mom worked at Arby's when I was in high school, and it's a big difference. And the reality is, you know, that job my mom had earlier in life as a welder on the assembly line, that job, those exist to the same sort to the same extent. You know, my mom had a GED when she got that job. And so there is a shift into service based work. That's the majority of our workforce now. And for someone, you know, we think of these Starbucks jobs as, hey, these are just college students are going to work here for a few months or work through a summer. It's just not the reality. You know, folks are baristas for for, you know, quite some time until they find a better circumstance or some people do it because they love it. But if you believe that all work has dignity and you believe that we have fundamental rights of organizing and this is a no brainer, this is you know, when you're down in your economy, one of the things that's always worked is being able to form a union and advocate for yourself, particularly in a downturn in the environment of an economy. And that's what this is really about. So I'm proud of those workers for stepping up. I know that there was, you know, a lot of controversy and pressure, but you stepped up and you advocate it for yourself and you have improved the profession and the industry because of your courage and leadership. And so I personally just want to say thank you. There's a Starbucks in every council district in Long Beach. And I'll tell you, you know, I like independent coffee, but I like it to be the coffee. But when you open up a Starbucks and I know those are good union jobs, I'm going to support that Starbucks as well. So you actually help Starbucks as well by taking this step. And so thank you so much. And I encourage and I vote. Thank you, Councilwoman Sato. Yes. I want to just thank Councilwoman Allen for uplifting our Starbucks workers who've been is the firs who are really the trailblazer in forming a union at Starbucks. You know, as a former labor organizer, I can certainly attest to how scary and how much courage and faith it takes to know that not only do your coworkers, you have to have your coworkers support, but the public support, too. And so this is a great item to show that the council also stand with them and they stand for work and that we stand for workers. Right. And the ability for everyone to have a safe working condition or condition, equitable treatment and fair pay. So I ask and I agree with Vice Mayor Richards and I have a Starbucks. No way. They don't have a Starbucks in my district anymore. Yeah, it's in the council district seven now, but there is one that does happen in my district. I do hope that it leads. They follow the path as well. So thank you. That's great. Thank you. Councilman Austin. Thank you so much. Certainly support this. This is a very easy item to get behind. For the last three decades or more, I've committed my my work, my professional work, but also my activism to organizing and supporting collective bargaining. And so in this particular day and age, Starbucks and other industries are now going to be unionized because people recognize the importance of having collective strength and a collective voice in a democratic process. And so I am very, very elated for the workers at Starbucks. I salute you, the brave individuals who stepped forth to do this. And I believe that you'll see a bold wave of support and other organizing efforts happening throughout Southern California as a result of the work that's happening here at our Starbucks here in Long Beach. So congratulations and certainly support this. I support, you know, fair elections and the opportunity for workers to organize without interference or reprisal or any sort of coercion from from from management. Thank you. Thank you. Come to me, Ringo. Thank you. And thank you, Councilmember Allen, for bringing this forward. And congratulations to the store workers at the store in Redondo and Seventh. I had an. Opportunity to meet with them before they. Took the vote. Certainly I was there to encourage them and thank them for their courage. It's not easy to take that type of a chance while you're still employed. We know what the ramifications have been in the past and that certainly is a bold. Move on their part. There now appears to be a groundswell of other stores trying to get that kind of union representation. And I wish them all well. And with my new Starbucks in my new seventh District, I am certainly hopeful that they will also follow suit. Thank you very much. Thank you, Councilman Price. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I appreciate all the comments tonight. And this item. I especially like the comment by Councilwoman Allen and Councilman Austin regarding a free, fair and just election process and free from any retaliation or retribution. I've been public employee union member for over 20 years. My mother retired as a 40 year member, as a union employed with L.A. Unified School District. And I think the process should always be fair. It should not be interfered with, and people should have a right to advocate for better conditions. So thank you for bringing this item and for the update regarding the Belmont Shore location. Thank you. Thank you, Councilwoman Mongo. I'm sorry customers that they have said. Did you have your are you queued through the system? Okay. Just just cue on the on the phone system if you can, ideally. But that's okay. Go ahead. Councilman's in the house and then Councilman Mongo. Thank you, Mayor. I just also want to lend my congratulations to the Starbucks workers. So very proud of you. I really do believe that it is essential for us as city leaders to unite and work to ensure that folks are guaranteed safe working conditions and a living wage. Equitable pay and treatment should no longer be an exception, but rather the standard for everyone. I applaud all the brave workers who have united to have United in this effort. And in their workplace to make sure that they give them better and better working conditions. I strongly support this item and I strongly support all workers who wish to uphold their right to unionize. So I'm with all of my colleagues here today to say congratulations and keep up the good work. I know that that particular Starbucks has a special place in my heart because I used to live right around the corner from it. And I'm really, really hoping that the three Starbucks that are in my district will follow suit. That will be a very good day for me. So thank you very much. And congratulations again. Thank you, Councilman Mongo. Thank you. I want to echo the comments of my colleagues, especially about a fair and just election process. And then I also just want to shed some light on a particular but already gives that may not be of real value to a majority of Starbucks employees, but I hope that should they move forward with the unionization, that they don't just advocate for the needs of the many, but the few that work there as well. As an older mom, I've been in many support groups with moms who have tried to get pregnant. And one of the things that they talk about is the extreme, the high costs of the in-vitro fertilization process. And a lot of the costs are out of reach for families. And so moms have chosen to go back to work at Starbucks part time because Starbucks gives a very, very robust and supportive mother program for IVF and they pay for it. For those moms that I know, that's not typically something unions really push for because there are so few women that it is a value to. But I know that to the women who have had that opportunity, it's just something that I hope that the employees keep in mind as they move forward, that that there are very unique benefits that they've received through the years. And I hope they continue to advocate for those unique benefits in addition to or not at the risk of the bigger picture. Thank you. Thank you. Before I call public comment, let me just go ahead and just add first. I think, you know, I think the election that just happened obviously here in Long Beach in Lakewood are just incredible testament. Most importantly and almost completely fully to all the workers at these stores and the workers that are organizing across across the country. There's no question that the organizing that's happened has, I think, just been very inspiring to the community for certainly has been to me just to witness how the organizing happened, the backup and support they got from so many members of the community and really being able to also share kind of the experiences that led the workers to really demand the dignity in the workplace and benefits and fair pay and the conversation that's happening across the country, particularly around Starbucks and so many other large corporations in the country. I'll also just add as a reminder that if we want to continue to improve any workplace, the best way to do so is to form a union. If you want to make sure that you move forward rights at the workplace, whether they're for LGBTQ people, whether they're for women, whether they're for for folks of all ages. The best way to do so is for the workers to form a union. And so any time you have an organized workforce in place, you almost always have a more just workplace for those that are there. And so a huge congratulations to the workers. I look forward to this being an inspiration. The work that the workers have have started across the city and more broadly across the country. And I just want to congratulate them as well. And if there's any public comment, we'll take that as well. If there are any members of the public that would like to speak on item 29 and person, please line up at the podium. 30 members of the public that would like to speak in Zoom. Please use the raise hand feature or dial star nine. In person. You have 3 minutes. Bay District six resident I appreciate the comments of the Council, Mayor. With respect to unionization, efforts for Starbucks and the fight for workers is a fight for all. I think we all can recognize that for the most part. However, I would be remiss if, as both as a taxpayer in the city and as a worker in this city, that I couldn't use this very odd opportunity to reference the ongoing workers fights with the city of Lumberton itself. I'm speaking specifically towards the court case of the black city workers. What Medina or Twine represent representing them? I mean, it's kind of odd the idea that, you know, we're in support of workers in the private sector, but not in support of workers in the public sector. Black city workers are for those that are watching. You know, they have a class action lawsuit against the city of Long Beach right now. You know, I'm related to one of those people connected in that lawsuit right now. And so, you know, there's the L.A. Times wrote an exposé about this just last year. And this is an ongoing lawsuit I'm sure everyone in this room is very familiar with. And, you know, just as much as we want you guys to come out and support in the private sector the efforts of unionization and that work, we also want to see the support going on with the fact that black workers in the city have been under, looked at, overlooked in promotion efforts and haven't been allowed to rise in the ranks as their white counterparts. You know, 58% are sorry. 65% of all black city workers and the city of Long Beach make under $60,000. There's there's there are price unions that are racial, not just gender rights, but racial. And until it's reflective of more positivity, relation to black advancement in the city, I mean, it's, it's, it's highly hypocritical to hear from the city as a whole. And so I just hope that we can do better for, you know, workers in the private sector. And I hope that we can do better for black workers here in the public sector. Thank you. Thank you. Speaker, please. Hi there. My name's Tyler. I'm the lead organizer from the legal location and a resident here in Long Beach. I, first of all, want to thank you all for your kind words around this resolution. It means a lot to me as somebody who has had to face an extreme amount of union busting in my store while also supporting little Long Beach location. I really need the to pass. This has to go. We need it because it needs to stand as the shining example, both for Lakewood, for when we start organizing other stores, as well as every other store in the rest of the state, as well as the rest of the country. Starbucks has spent an uncanny amount of money hiring littler Mendelson, an absolutely terrible lawyer firm with a long history of union busting. And they have sidestepped the law as many times as they've been possible and have been met, obviously, with the resistance to that. However, the company has refused to obviously sign the fair and free election principles that we very, very need them to sign. It is integral. So again, thank you for your kind words, but this fight needs to go as big as we can make it as well. So passing this is integral. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good afternoon, honorable mayor and City Council. I'm Natalie Gonzalez, president of the Long Beach City Employees Union. I am a local Long Beach, 1930 and District two resident. I want to thank Councilwoman Allen and Vice Mayor Rex Richardson and Councilwoman Sun has for championing this resolution and supporting workers rights to organize here in Long Beach and the right to fair and free union elections. Organizing is a very work of democracy. We know that unions play a pivotal role in our communities, economy and in the quality of life for working families. Unions help workers and their communities retain the value of their labor, set boundaries with their employers, and maintain worker protections and safety. Quite frankly, it pays to have a union in your workplace. And so with that, a mighty congratulations to Starbucks Workers United who organize their workplace in the face of an employer who has not hesitated to retaliate against union organizers again and again. And yet they persisted. They succeeded. Their efforts will reverberate through our Long Beach community. I want to wish Starbucks workers united good luck in negotiating your first contract. It is a grueling process, and so I encourage you to stay vigilant and to fight for every inch Long Beach City leadership and your city employees stand behind you. I am excited that Long Beach City Council supports our workers so strongly. It matters. I, for one, look forward to the same kind of energy as we enter our union contract negotiations next year. But for now, this moment is for the workers. Congratulations. Starbucks workers throughout Long Beach and the surrounding communities to the amazing baristas fighting the good fight. Keep it up. Keep going. And we're with you in solidarity. Thank you. Thank you. Speaker, please. Once again, good evening, mayor garcia. Members of the council. Rob no tough policy director, los angeles county federation of labor. And I'm here to speak on behalf of President Ron Herrera. When we just say that Long Beach is a union town and nobody who works full time should have to live in poverty or close to it. And that's what today is really about. When we talk about these brave baristas like Tyler and everybody else that he works with, they should be commended for what they're doing because it's a historic and heroic effort that they're really taking part on. And let me explain why. When we talk about baristas and we talk about service sector workers in general, the public oftentimes abides by allowing, assuming that they should be receiving low wages, barely above minimum wage. And despite this body really fighting to raise the minimum wage several years ago, which should be obviously commended, it's still not enough . And what Tyler and their coworkers are doing is to make sure that they are really making forcing all of us to really challenge and rethink norms about why shouldn't a barista be able to have a living wage job? Why shouldn't they be able to have life saving benefits? And why shouldn't they be able to have a dignified job? So again, we applaud them for challenging norms because they're making us think beyond this. And it doesn't just start with Starbucks, but it actually moves beyond to Amazon workers and to other workers in our service sectors who we vitally depend on. As everybody here said, all work has dignity. So why shouldn't they receive dignified wages and a dignified lifestyle on the job? So with that said, the work is still going to be challenging. I appreciate everybody, everybody's support for a fair and free election, but we're already seeing a lot of dirty tactics being played by Starbucks, where they're offering new raises and benefits to the nonunion sites and saying, we can't do that for our union sites. It's already happening. So we would as we venture into the next grueling part of this, which is actually securing a real contract, that's where the rubber is going to hit the road. And we look forward to the support of this body because when we talk about equity and we talk about trying to transform society, it all begins in the workplace. If you want to see immigrants rights, join a union negotiating or collective bargaining agreement, if you want to see racial justice, join a union, negotiate it in the workplace , and negotiate a collective bargaining agreement in your workplace. It all comes full circle in the workplace. So we appreciate everybody's support. We urge you all, obviously, to vote yes on this item and to the workers at Starbucks. Welcome to Union Town. Thank you. Before we take a vote, we just need one minute because we've lost audio or the connection with our three members that are calling in. Is that right? Yes. Our team is working right now to establish a connection. I believe people can hear us in the zoom. I'm not sure if we can hear them. Mary, can you still. I think we need to reestablish the audio connection if we can. Justin So we're going to reestablish the connection, then we'll go to the vote as soon as we get that established. Can any of the council women hear or speak right now? Not yet. Okay. So I'm just being I'm being told that the reconnection might take a minute or two. And so per the attorney, we actually have to pause until we get the connection on the audio. Is that correct? That is correct. Under the new. Rules for three, maybe 361, we were required to suspend the meeting until it's. Restored. Okay. So we'll go ahead and suspend the meeting till it's restored. And maybe, maybe what we'll do is we'll just take a two minute recess, apologize, everyone, but we'll take the vote as soon as it's restored. All right, Mary. When you think about the. If any other council women can hear us, can you please acknowledge? Yes, I can hear you. Thank you, Mary. Thank you. I think that we have restored the connection. Is that right? Okay. We're going to go ahead and restart the meeting. We've restored connection. And so with that, I'm calling the meeting back to order. I believe we first need to do a roll call of the meeting and then we'll go into the roll call of the vote. Madam Clerk councilman's in Dallas. I sent Councilwoman Allen a present. Councilman Price. And then councilman super now. Councilwoman Mango. Here. Councilwoman Sara present. Councilmember Durango. Present. Councilman Austin. Your Vice Mayor Richardson. Mayor Yeah. Thank you. And now we will take the vote, which will also be a roll call. District one, district two I. District three. I. District four. District five. By. District six. I. District seven. I. District eight. By District nine. I. Motion is carried. Eight zero. Thank you. Now we're moving on to item 22, which is the charter committee recommendation.