In March of 2025, Mike Hoover claimed that he ‘wasn’t Starbucks’ when referring to his response to Uncommon Grounds workers’ union campaign.
Interestingly, he chose to engage in similar activities as Starbucks:
Hiring anti-union lawyers
Threatening closures
Threatening a decline in working conditions
Creating discrepancies in benefits between union and non-union stores
Slowing contract negotiations by not responding to workers
Slowing contract negotiations by not showing up to the bargaining table
Since Hoover made the comparison to Starbucks, both Uncommon Grounds Workers United and Starbucks Workers United are currently bargaining for their first contract.
Ironically, it may turn out that Starbucks may negotiate a contract before Hoover even finishes bargaining over our union’s non-economic packages, which he has had since July of 2025.
Hoover’s bargaining team has failed to respond with counter proposals for a majority of our non-economic packages. This would be due to Hoover’s anti-unionism.
Despite claiming that he wanted to work with his employees to make Uncommon Grounds a better place for all, he has refused to even come to the bargaining table himself to hear directly from his workers. Despite workers having sent him multiple requests to come to the table, he hasn’t been seen - neither has a reply to his workers’ requests.
Who will give their workers a fair contract first - Uncommon Grounds or Starbucks?
We believe one of the many things that makes Uncommon Grounds so special is that they are NOT Starbucks.
The coffee industry doesn’t run without workers, and workers deserve better.