Seoul, South Korea – On weekday afternoons, Starbucks restaurants in the Yangjae district of southern Seoul swell with groups of office workers looking for after-lunch refreshment.
A line forms from the counter to the shop’s swinging glass doors as white-collar workers line up to order hot and cold drinks. Among the seasonal specials are Lavender Beige Oat Latte topped with cornflowers and New Year’s citrus tea garnished with lemongrass and a slice of orange.
“We come here with our colleagues after lunch because we know everyone will be able to find something they like,” Yoon Min Joo, who works for an interior design firm nearby, told Al Jazeera.
“In small coffee shops, they usually only have basic coffee and tea. At Starbucks, even people who don’t like coffee or are on a diet can order it comfortably.”
Starbucks is so popular in South Korea that it can look like an outlet in almost every building. The state is Starbucks’ fourth-largest market, with 1,611 stores and about 20,000 workers, which the company refers to as “Partners.”
But despite the brand’s popularity — built on its sprawling menu, association with the American middle class and branded merchandise — the coffee giant is now facing a challenge to its image in South Korea in the form of scrutiny over business conditions in its stores. The way workers respond could herald an evolution in labor activism in a country with a history of fervent protests.
In October, when the company held an event offering reusable cups with the purchase of a drink, the barista’s fatigue and frustration worsened.
In the Blind app, where employees can vent about working conditions anonymously, workers complained about low wages and poor conditions. Some told horror stories of serving up to 650 drinks on order at once, while scrambling to pour, mix and serve endless customers without making any mistakes, smiling and maintaining friendly customer service.
South Korea has a long history of vociferous protests by unions and labor activists [File: Ahn Young-joon/AP]In December, Ryu Ho-jeong, a left-wing politician, released the results of a survey that found 613 Starbucks workers sought mental health treatment due to work stress in 2020, a more than fivefold increase compared to 2015. The survey also found that workplace accidents It has tripled compared to the previous year.
To draw attention to their plight, the workers rented a flatbed truck with a huge light screen to drive from downtown Seoul to the busy Gangnam district in the south of the city, and took their complaints to the hordes of customers congregating at Starbucks locations across the city afterward. lunch. The screen loaded a text addressing the company with messages that included “Partners” being your biggest asset. Don’t forget that” and “we won’t take it anymore”.
The protests made national headlines, winning concessions from Starbucks Korea, which pledged to hire 1,600 additional workers to ease conditions in their stores. The company, which entered South Korea in 1999 at a time when brewed coffee was new, also promised wage increases based on seniority and performance.
While Starbucks workers were fighting their battle, proponents of labor regulation in South Korea noticed how a group of young service industry workers managed to garner attention and material gains.
The Korea Confederation of Trade Unions, a major labor group with more than a million members in industries across the country, welcomed the actions of Starbucks workers and encouraged them to work towards the creation of a union.
“By forming a trade union, workers can address their grievances,” the union said in a statement.
Starbucks protesters, mostly in their 20s and 30s, have swiped left on the call to join unions, saying that instead of engaging in collective bargaining with Starbucks management, they could communicate their needs more effectively through innovative tactics such as the truck protest.
In South Korea, labor unions have for decades been static in shipyards and factories, but recent years have seen union efforts at some of the country’s most innovative companies, including tech giants Cocoa and Naver.
hard fight
Yu Gyu-chang, professor of human resource management at Hanyang University, told Al Jazeera that South Korea’s work culture has become more aware of workers’ welfare.
“Social pressure has been growing along with the voice of millennials and Generation Z,” Yu said.
The increased labor organization comes at a time when inequality has become a major topic of public discourse in South Korea, which is reflected in the phenomenon of squid pop culture, as many in the country search for ways to earn a stable living in an increasingly tough economy.
According to data released in December by the Ministry of Labor, the rate of unionization in South Korea in 2020 rose to 14.2 percent, compared to 12.5 percent a year earlier.
“Many young people want to work for companies that have unions because they realize that unions can provide protection and help them get the benefits they want,” Lee Byung-hun, an expert in industrial relations at Chung-Ang University, told Al Jazeera.
“What they don’t like is the old style of union activism in Korea, military struggle, fighting and protest.”
Politician Rio said, in a statement, that her survey showed that conditions for Starbucks workers still need to improve.
“There will definitely be a second and third truck demonstration,” she said.
While their victory is incomplete, the way Starbucks workers have captured their bosses’ attention — and the state’s — could herald an evolution in workers’ organization in South Korea, away from old, traditional protests and toward an era in which workers are looking for new ways to communicate with them. stimulate.
said Lim Myung Ho, a professor of psychology at Dankook University.
“They have confidence in their ability to express their opinions without outside help,” Lim said. “There will be more cases like Starbucks.”
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