Starbucks workers across the United States are organizing. Workers at locations in multiple cities are engaged in an inspiring unionization push that is gaining in momentum. The energy has jumped the border and has now landed in Canada. Workers at the Starbucks in the food court of the Chinook Centre mall in Calgary, Alberta, are organizing with the United Steelworkers (USW).

In January, the USW filed an application with the Alberta Labour Relations Board on behalf of the Chinook Centre Starbucks location. On February 16, mail-in ballots were sent out to the location’s seventeen employees. These ballots are due back by March 9. “The workers are just tired of being treated poorly and like second-class citizens in their workplace,” United Steelworkers spokesperson Brett Barden told CTV News in January. Barden made it clear that health and safety concerns are a priority for workers who have had to endure the pandemic.

Historically, Starbucks has fought tooth and nail against unionization. Last year, Starbucks’ revenues were as high as $29 billion, and its CEO, Kevin Johnson, earned $20.4 million. The company will not easily accede to any downward transfer of wealth.