So far three Starbucks employees have been stuck by discarded needles in their stores.
Image after image provided to KIRO 7 reveal what three baristas claim they dispose of nearly every day while on the job at Starbucks: hypodermic needles they say were left behind by drug users.
All three employees also produced hospital, pharmacy and insurance receipts that show they took anti-viral medications to protect them from AIDS and hepatitis — after all three were poked by needles while on the job.
“(Needle users) put them in the tampon disposal boxes in the bathrooms, and we have to dig them out,” one barista recently said.
The three baristas all spoke with KIRO 7.
Only one was willing to be interviewed on-camera, as long as her identity was hidden.
“I don’t want to lose my job for being the only one willing to say, ‘Someone listen to me. Do something about this. My friends are at risk,'” she said.
At the employees’ North Seattle-area Starbucks, co-workers document when needles are found, leave notes asking “How many more baristas have to get poked before we get disposals in bathrooms?”
For a while, they even shared medication to avoid illness if pricked because in the past 12 months, three baristas have been, according to medical documents provided to KIRO 7.
That practice was abandoned as soon as the employees learned sharing medication could get their manager in trouble.
However, the frustration remains.
“That’s three of us now, in one location,” the barista who spoke on camera said.
She and the two other baristas would like Starbucks to install locked needle disposal boxes in all restrooms, especially in cafes where drug use is more common.
“I’m pretty sure it looks worse to have your baristas continuously exposed to HIV and hep C and hep B” than to have locked boxes for needle disposal in areas open to the public, the barista said.
Starbucks spokesman Reggie Borges confirmed to KIRO 7 that at least two Seattle-area baristas have been poked by hypodermic needles while on the job, but Borges claims that since early 2017, all employees have been retrained on what steps to take when hypodermic needles are found.
He also disputed baristas’ claims they must “dig” needles out of trash bins. If an employee is “ever in a position where they don’t feel comfortable completing a task, they are empowered to remove themselves from the situation and alert a manager,” according to Borges, who would not agree to an on-camera interview.
Keep reading…
Image after image provided to KIRO 7 reveal what three baristas claim they dispose of nearly every day while on the job at Starbucks: hypodermic needles they say were left behind by drug users.
All three employees also produced hospital, pharmacy and insurance receipts that show they took anti-viral medications to protect them from AIDS and hepatitis — after all three were poked by needles while on the job.
“(Needle users) put them in the tampon disposal boxes in the bathrooms, and we have to dig them out,” one barista recently said.
The three baristas all spoke with KIRO 7.
Only one was willing to be interviewed on-camera, as long as her identity was hidden.
“I don’t want to lose my job for being the only one willing to say, ‘Someone listen to me. Do something about this. My friends are at risk,'” she said.
At the employees’ North Seattle-area Starbucks, co-workers document when needles are found, leave notes asking “How many more baristas have to get poked before we get disposals in bathrooms?”
For a while, they even shared medication to avoid illness if pricked because in the past 12 months, three baristas have been, according to medical documents provided to KIRO 7.
That practice was abandoned as soon as the employees learned sharing medication could get their manager in trouble.
However, the frustration remains.
“That’s three of us now, in one location,” the barista who spoke on camera said.
She and the two other baristas would like Starbucks to install locked needle disposal boxes in all restrooms, especially in cafes where drug use is more common.
“I’m pretty sure it looks worse to have your baristas continuously exposed to HIV and hep C and hep B” than to have locked boxes for needle disposal in areas open to the public, the barista said.
Starbucks spokesman Reggie Borges confirmed to KIRO 7 that at least two Seattle-area baristas have been poked by hypodermic needles while on the job, but Borges claims that since early 2017, all employees have been retrained on what steps to take when hypodermic needles are found.
He also disputed baristas’ claims they must “dig” needles out of trash bins. If an employee is “ever in a position where they don’t feel comfortable completing a task, they are empowered to remove themselves from the situation and alert a manager,” according to Borges, who would not agree to an on-camera interview.
Keep reading…
