The lady of the house stopped for her usual flat white at a nearby Starbucks, a treat for a week of working out. Opening the lid at home, she discovered it was only half full.

But the barista, one of the thousands of Starbucks workers who want to unionize, did print her name with floral flourishes and drew a smiley face on the to-go cup. For that, she paid nearly $6.

Perhaps a manager should have checked the barista’s work. Other Starbucks customers, too, have found frequent subpar service at the ubiquitous coffee chain.

The company’s baristas have complained about what they say are issues of understaffing, low pay, training, safe working conditions — after all they are working with boiling water — and benefits. It’s why employees in hundreds of company coffee shops across the nation ha

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