Starbucks executives have declined to install sharps containers in their State Street location, according to Starbucks shift supervisor and union organizer Matthew Cartwright.
The State Street store filed a petition Sept. 28 as a collective action to request a sharps disposal container in each of the bathrooms due to safety concerns the workers have, Cartwright said.
Two incidents have been reported by store partners in the past year involving sharp objects, and vendors noted only one issue involving improper disposal of a sharp object, according to a statement from Starbucks.
“Following a detailed assessment and facilities review, which included an analysis of incident reports submitted by partners and local leadership, it was determined that restroom timers were the most appropriate and effective investment to mitigate current issues and maintain a welcoming experience at our State Street store,” Starbucks said in an email statement to The Badger Herald.
Starbucks seeks to establish themselves as a “third place,” a place in between home and work to spend time, but the denial of sharps containers communicates that it is not effective nor appropriate to keep needles out of their third place, Cartwright said.
Sharps containers can vary in size and shape, but their purpose is to keep needles in a secure, safe spot, according to Vivent Health prevention specialist Austin Zempel.
“Just seeing needles laying around in public … you never know what sort of disease, hepatitis or some other kind of blood-borne pathogen is living on the needle,” Zempel said. “It’s always important to have a safe place to dispose of them, because then you don’t have to worry about digging through the needles and picking it up and getting poked.”
Vivent Health — an HIV-dedicated, nonprofit health organization — provided the store with free sharps containers that they planned to empty every month, as well as fentanyl test strips and Narcan. But the store was told by a Starbucks district manager they could not keep the donated sharps containers, according to Cartwright.
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As an alternative to sharps containers, Starbucks management had restroom timers installed in the State Street location, without any notification to staff, Cartwright said. A light blinks when someone has been in the restroom for eight minutes, which indicates the employees should go check on them, according to Cartwright.
Employees are now expected to be bathroom monitors with no training or extra staffing, which can cause issues during busy periods, Cartwright said.
“I think these [restroom timers] have their place, I think they can be effective, especially in the case of keeping people safe from things like overdoses,” Cartwright said. “It’s effective for those reasons, but I don’t see how it will prevent the use of needles or the disposal of needles within the store whatsoever.”
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Starbucks senior corporate communications manager Andrew Trull told The Badger Herald Sept. 28 that the sharps containers had been purchased but were on backorder, resulting in a delay of delivery. Cartwright said the district manager was unable to provide additional details about when the boxes would arrive.
The State Street location then received a letter from partner relations consultant Camille Arnold on Nov. 1 that said after conducting a review and considering the location for sharps containers, the store’s situation did not qualify for their implementation.
Though Starbucks only identified two incidents where State Street staff reported finding sharps in the store, Cartwright said the issue is largely underreported. The store is going to continue to fight and advocate for the sharps containers to improve overall safety, Cartwright said.
“For us … this is something we have encountered,” Cartwright said. “We feel that even one needle is far too many and it needs to be safer for everyone. Then we’re being told, actually we don’t think this is effective or appropriate because you haven’t had enough needles found so go ahead and find yourself more needles, have more incidents.”
