On February 20, the workers calling for a union at Starbucks stores had their biggest day ever. They filed for union elections at 21 stores across the country on a single day.

This Thursday, Feb. 29, the workers at one of those stores, in Antioch, are calling for community members to come support them in their fight for a union at a “sip-in.”

This is an easy way to show up for workers who are fighting daily against understaffing, unsafe conditions, mismanagement, and relentless union-busting from Starbucks, a company that has spent an estimated $240 million (so far!) to keep its workers from having dignity, respect, a voice on the job, and a union contract.

Dani Armstrong works at the Antioch Starbucks. She said, “I’ve been working to form our union here since August of 2023, and I’m incredibly excited to be able to talk to our community, from our customers to the mayor, about it.

“It feels so good to be out in public and moving forward with our campaign to have a union at this store. I’m one person out of two dozen who work here, and we’re all incredibly different, unique people, but we all share the need to have a safe, healthy workplace, and that unites us.

“People should come out to our sip-in to show their support and to get to know us as people, and as workers. Your job may not be like my job, but we all deserve workplaces that are healthy and safe and we all deserve a union.”

Leilani Solorzano-Lopez has been a barista at the Antioch store for two years. She said, “I’m looking forward to seeing the community come in to support our cause. All of us who work here are close, and we’re on board, and it will be good to know that our community understands that we are not doing this because we hate our jobs — we’re doing this because we love our jobs, we want to do our jobs better, and we just need more resources. With our union, we’ll be able to do that.”