Baristas lead union push in Middle Tennessee

This Is Nashville · Jul 7, 2022 · 50m

Unions have historically been associated with factory workers and those in the automotive industry. In Tennessee, food service employees – particularly baristas – are leading the labor organization push.

In Knoxville, Memphis and Murfreesboro, there’s been various efforts to unionize local Starbucks locations. While in Nashville, much of the labor organizing is taking place at smaller, independent shops – like Three Brothers Coffee and Barista Parlor.

In this episode, we talk to community members who are leading the unionization efforts about why they want a union and some of the pushback…