San Francisco supervisor wants to help local Starbucks employees unionize

A San Francisco supervisor wants to help Starbucks employees unionize.

District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston introduced legislation on Tuesday that would call on Starbucks to allow workers to decide if they want to unionize without any interference.

"As a Democratic Socialist, I am fighting for an economy that works for every worker in San Francisco, and we know unions are an integral part of that fight," Preston said in a news release obtained by SFGate."San Francisco is a union town, and we are thrilled to support our local workers as they join the national movement for worker solidarity."

Preston said he is among several elected officials nationwide working to support Starbucks workers.

Employees at a Starbucks location in the Castro filed for union recognition last month. That came after workers at two Starbucks stores in Santa Cruz voted to unionize, making them the first California stores of the coffee chain to do so.

Reasons workers gave to unionize in prior instances included security issues, wages and a lack of support from upper management.

However, Starbucks insists that they are stronger without unions.