A group of workers at the Starbucks location on West Main Street are the first in Medford and second in Jackson County to join one of the U.S.’s largest unionization movements of the century.

Six baristas who work at the coffee chain’s outlet at 2372 W. Main St. sent a letter to Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan on Thursday formally stating their intent to begin a unionization campaign.

Grounds for the unionization petition include claims made by the undersigned workers — Trenton Lindsey, Andrea Willis, Daniela Quezada, Brittany Gray, Kara Lynn Donaldson and Ashlen Aceto — that they are “extremely disappointed with the lack of support shown by our managers,” and that they “feel greatly neglected, overworked, underpaid and underappreciated,” according to a copy of the letter submitted to the Times.

“We are encouraged to call ourselves ‘partners’ of Starbucks, yet we are constantly faced with issues of intimidation tactics, inconsistencies with scheduling and undermining from management,” the letter states.

Starbucks spokesperson Andrew Tull said in an emailed statement Friday that the corporation pledges not to interfere with the workers ahead of the election.

“In advance of the union representation election, our focus will be to ensure that they can trust the process is fair and their voice is heard,” Tull said in the statement.

The west Medford location is the first Starbucks in the city to begin unionizing, according to Lillian DeVane, who is assisting the employees as the Oregon union organizer with Starbucks Workers United, a national organization.

Seventeen part- and full-time employees are eligible to vote at the location.

DeVane anticipates a vote within the next couple of weeks. As of Friday afternoon, an election date had not been set.

Starbucks Workers United has helped more than 380 locations unionize across 42 states since December 2021, according to DeVane and the organization. Such locations include the Ashland coffee house at 512 Walker Ave., where workers voted 13 to 10 in favor of unionizing in an April 21, 2023, election.

Workers at a third Rogue Valley location — the Starbucks at 201 NE Terry Lane in Grants Pass — initially petitioned to unionize in July. DeVane said the workers ultimately withdrew their petition with the National Labor Relations Board before it came to a vote.

DeVane claimed that Starbucks has a “well-documented” history of interfering with unions, and that “it’s clear those workers want a union.”

In Starbucks’ email to the Times, the company states it is “committed to following all protocols outlined by the NLRB.”

“To support adherence to company policies and compliance with the complex patchwork of employment and labor law, Starbucks launched a robust management training program and established a dedicated labor relations team for real-time counsel,” Tull’s statement says.

Of 30 stores across Oregon that petitioned for a unionization election in 2022 and 2023, 28 voted in favor of unionizing, according to a nationwide list of petitioning Starbucks compiled by the pro-union website perfectunion.us.

The west Medford workers reached out to Starbucks Workers United in mid-November, according to DeVane. She said she worked with the local workers to help them understand how collective action can address their needs. Otherwise, she let them take the lead.

“They’re ready,” DeVane said.

DeVane offered to connect the Times with petitioning workers, but they were not immediately available. Starbucks Workers United provided quotes from West Main workers in a release.

Lindsey, who has worked as a barista for the past eight months, said he will be voting to unionize “because I’m disheartened and frustrated by the lack of empathy this company has towards the people who overwork themselves everyday to serve their community.”

“It’s time to show solidarity with other partners” — Starbucks workers — “across the nation and advocate for a better work environment, better pay, better access to healthcare and so much more,” Lindsey said in the release.

Brittany Gray, who has worked at the West Main Starbucks for a year, said in the release that she is voting to unionize because she believes Starbucks workers “deserve reasonable wages and easy access (to) benefits.”

“Regardless of where folks fall on the job tier, we deserve a comfortable, stable workplace,” Gray said in the release.

DeVane said each store’s workers differ in what they want from a union. The workers at individual stores decide what their contracts look like and what dues they will pay.

“It’s really just about preparation and education and letting them take the lead,” DeVane said.