Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) is noticing an alarming trend at some of its stores and is now taking action. Due to unsafe working conditions for its employees, the coffee corporation will be installing boxes for safe disposal of syringes in their bathrooms. These boxes will be installed only at certain locations.
Starbucks Unsafe Work Conditions
A petition was started and signed by nearly 4,000 people on Coworkers.org, calling for Starbucks to place these needle-disposal boxes in high-risk bathrooms. The coffee giant is exploring remedies after employees expressed their concerns about being pricked and the possibility of contracting HIV or any other fluid-contracted disease.
“These societal issues affect us all and can sometimes place our partners (employees) in scary situations, which is why we have protocols and resources in place to ensure our partners are out of harm’s way,” Starbucks representative Reggie Borges told Business Insider.
In addition to the boxes, Starbucks is also thinking of removing trash cans from bathrooms of high-risk areas and using heavier-duty trash bags to prevent potential needle pokes. One worker out of Lynnwood, Washington spoke to Business Insider and states they were terrified of taking out the trash due to the potential of being poked by an un-capped syringe.
This has been an ongoing problem in some of the chain’s most active stores. Back in October, three employees in Seattle told local news that they’ve had to take antiviral medications to protect themselves from HIV and hepatitis due to encountering hypodermic needles on the job daily.
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“I think the bathroom policy has definitely changed the store’s environment,” one manager who works at a Starbucks location in Southern California told Business Insider. “It’s great that Starbucks wants to try and include everyone, but that means that they include absolutely everyone.”
While not all of these needles may be drug-related, it seems that most are improperly discarded, drawing mass suspicion of drugs. Most individuals that are insulin-dependent are taught how to properly dispose of needles when a safety box isn’t present. Starbucks’ new efforts to protect its employees could lead other companies to do so as well.
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