REPORTER
Leone Law, LLC, led by Anthony R. Leone II, focuses on nursing home abuse and neglect cases, advocating for vulnerable individuals and Achieving Justice for their families.
Anthony Leone Past Chair, American Association for Justice Nursing Home Litigation Group
• Resident Abuse and Neglect
• Pressure Injuries
• Injuries from Falls
• Significant Medication Errors
• Dehydration and malnutrition related injuries
“ Wait and delay. It’ s a war of attrition where corporations have huge advantages,” Schaller says.“ Starbucks is the first real uptick in organizing, at least, that we’ ve seen in a long time, so I don’ t think it’ s just a blip on the radar.”
“ The desire for a better deal and people’ s interest in representation is going to stay because the long-term problems are huge: income inequality and the cost of living, these things have been building up for a long time,” Minchin says.
On a summer Saturday, Seven Stars Barista Stephanie Walker sat at the clean expanse of table in the window of the Cranston location. The coffee shop was thinly populated in the lull between the lunch rush and customers seeking a late afternoon pick-me-up. Walker had just finished her shift, and was only two weeks away from taking maternity leave. Walker, part of the negotiating team for the ninety-member unit, leaves with confidence that her employment is protected.
“ It definitely helps with my security here because I know that my life is about to change,” she says.
Walker has worked for the local chain since her sophomore year at the University of Rhode Island, where she studied human development and family science. Walker became a full-time employee after graduation, because baristas, it turned out, made more than daycare workers.
During her eleven-year tenure, Walker has seen the benefits and the path for advancement progress at Seven Stars, and then halt after the pandemic. She says her attempts to get management to address these issues failed, and it was at this very table, she mused, where she explained to a perplexed manager why the staff joined the UFCW.
“ Steph, why didn’ t you tell me everyone was so upset?” she recalls him asking.
“ I told you,” she said.“ You didn’ t listen.” 🆁
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Ellen Liberman is an award-winning journalist and columnist who has commented on politics and reported on government affairs for more than four decades.
44 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY I OCTOBER 2026