Pumpkin Spice, Please. Hold the Dues.

It's officially autumn, which means it's the season for all things pumpkin. Pumpkin patches. Pumpkin bread. Pumpkin-scented candles. And, of course, the pumpkin spice latte, which somehow shows up every year before the leaves even start to change color.

Love it or hate it, one thing is true about everyone standing in line for a pumpkin spice latte: they chose to be there.

Nobody signed them up. Nobody deducted the cost from their paycheck. Nobody told them they could only cancel their order during a short window next spring.

That sounds ridiculous, right? But in many unionized workplaces, it's not far from reality.

The iconic coffee chain knows a thing or two about this. Over the past few years, it has become one of the most visible union organizing targets in the country. Workers United now represents employees at roughly 700 Starbucks locations. Despite years of organizing and negotiations, there is still no contract. In late August, the union called for a boycott.

There's an irony in that. Customers can walk away from Starbucks any time they like. A barista at a union store who never wanted the union doesn't have it so easy. Once a union becomes the bargaining representative, everyone in that bargaining unit is represented by it, including employees who opposed it. Getting out requires a legal process most employees have never heard of.

That's where we come in.

At the Center for Independent Employees (CIE), we believe employees deserve the same freedom at work that they have at the coffee counter. When employees no longer want union representation, we help them navigate the legal process and stay with them until the job is finished.

Freedom shouldn't depend on which side of the counter you're on.

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The Center for Independent Employees (CIE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides legal representation and assistance to independent employees who are opposed to union oppression in their workplaces.