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Employees at the Starbucks located at 1703 North Dixie Highway went on strike Tuesday in protest of what they described as unfair labor practices by the company’s upper management.

Barista Anastacia Shelton was among the striking workers Tuesday. She said Starbucks has not closed bargaining with Starbucks Workers United, the union representing the Dixie Highway store and the store at 111 The Loop, for over a year, which means calls from workers for better benefits, wages that keep pace with cost of living changes, and improved distribution of labor have gone unanswered.

“They’ve been pushing it off, and they haven’t done anything to give us any of what we’ve been asking for or even find a middle ground with us,” Shelton said.

Starbucks Workers United says on social media that stores across the country are also protesting what they called illegal changes made to the company dress code during the bargaining process. Shelton said the company says the dress code change is for the customers, but customers have not said anything to them about what they are wearing.

“It also isn’t something that affects the taste of coffee, but it is discriminating a bit against our LGBTQ+ community within our stores,” Shelton said. “It’s making them very uncomfortable. There’s a lot of things like gender dysphoria that’s being caused by the changes to the dress code, and it’s very much not welcoming to the trans community that we have a lot of in our stores.”

Starbucks said in a statement Tuesday: “Thousands of Starbucks partners (employees) came to work today ready to serve their customers and communities. The biggest update to our dress code is simple: wear a black shirt—either your own or one we provide. While Workers United, which represents less than 5 percent of our workforce, attempted to create disruption in a handful of stores, the overwhelming majority of our 10,000 us company-operated stores remain open and are serving customers as normal. It would be more productive if the union would put the same effort into coming back to the table to finalize a reasonable contract.”

Voter registration in Kentucky in April was described as “flat.”

The Kentucky Secretary of State’s Office says 5,423 new voter registrations were logged in April, while 4,824 voters were removed, a net gain of only 599 voters.

According to the Secretary of State’s Office, of the registrations that were removed from the rolls 3,279 were for deceased voters, 620 were for felony convicts, and 487 moved out of state.

Republican registration increased by 740 voters in April. Independent or other registrations increased by 1,324, while Democratic registrations decreased by 1,465 voters. Republican registration makes up 47 percent of the electorate, Democratic registration makes up 42 percent, and independent or other makes up 11 percent.

Kentuckians can register to vote or check their registration status by visiting govote.ky.gov, or by contacting their county clerk’s office.

The Elizabethtown City Council met for their first meeting of the month Monday.

The first reading was held on an ordinance that amends the zoning for 1377 Hutcherson Lane from Future Development Holding to Agribusiness, and on an ordinance that amends the zoning of 110 East Memorial Drive from High-Density Residential (R-6) to Neighborhood Office (C-1). The council also approved a municipal order that adopts the Elizabethtown Planning Commission’s recommendation to deny a zoning amendment for 707 Saint John Road from Suburban Residential (R-1) to High-Density Residential and Regional Commercial (C-3).

“The Elizabethtown Planning Commission received public testimony, and determined that the request to amend the official zoning map was not in agreement with the adopted comprehensive plan,” read Elizabethtown City Attorney Ken Howard from the municipal order.

Several other municipal orders were approved including the acceptance of a $467,500 bid from Dirt Works Unlimited for improvements at University Drive Park that will include new basketball courts and a professional services contract with Palmer Engineering “for the design of the Commerce Drive extension from Springfield Road to East Dixie Avenue in an amount not to exceed $304,000. The road should be designed to meet all Kentucky Transportation Cabinet standards for potential funding by the Commonwealth of Kentucky.”

Also meeting for their first meeting of the month Monday was the Radcliff City Council. Radcliff/Fort Knox Tourism and Convention Commission Treasurer/Secretary Bob Moore presented the organization’s upcoming budget. Moore noted that Saunders Springs continues to generate the most website traffic, and the commission will be expanding advertising at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. 

Radcliff Mayor JJ Duvall presented a recognition award to the soldiers from the Fort Knox BOSS Program.

“The City of Radcliff would like to recognize soldiers in the Fort Knox BOSS Program for volunteering their time, in coordination with Project HOPE, to organize and distribute supplies to families affected during the April floods in Kentucky,” Radcliff City Attorney Mike Pike read from the text of the award. “We thank you for supporting the citizens of Radcliff and our surrounding communities in recovery efforts.”

The Radcliff City Council will next meet May 20, while the Elizabethtown City Council will next meet May 27.