Five Starbucks Locations Have Filed to Unionize Over the Past Six Days

Starbucks workers are filing for unionization at a rapid pace. Five Starbucks locations in five states have filed for union elections within the past six days.

Eugene, Oregon workers Filed to unionize last Friday. Soon, locations in Chicago and Cleveland followed. with their filings. On Tuesday, workers in Hopewell, New JerseyTheir petitions were filed; workers at the North Monroe Street address in Tallahassee, Florida also filed their petitions. filed for a union.

Tallahassee workers’ filing brings the total number of stores that Submitted unionization applications in the past few months up to 18Seven of those filings were made in the last two weeks.

The filings come amid a wave of unionizing activity among workers at the coffee company’s corporate-owned locations. Unions have been filed by 11 states. This is an amazing pace. Labor Notes reporter Jonah FurmanIt was noted that 13 workplaces applied for a vote over the whole year in the most active sector of the U.S. organizing last year, the marijuana industry.

Tuesday will be the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) day Certified election resultsGenesee Street location in Buffalo, New York. Employees voted 15 to 9 in favor. Two locations, Elmwood and Buffalo, have voted to form unions so far. The union is disputing its loss at a third store, Buffalo’s Camp Road.

Tallahassee and New Jersey workers sent letters to Kevin Johnson, the Starbucks CEO, expressing solidarity with other unionizing locations. They sharply criticised the company for their union busting efforts.

“We are aware of your partnership with the notorious union-busting law firm Littler Mendelson. We are not intimidated by such blatant tactics: we are emboldened to join our fellow partners across the United States as we stand for what is right,” Tallahassee workers wrote. “We are outraged that partners you claim to care so deeply about are being mistreated, gaslighted, and harassed in their own stores due to your union busting efforts.”

Hopewell workers also expressed similar sentiments. “We are angered and disappointed by the blatant anti-union behavior you and other management have shown in stores who are simply trying to become equal partners in this company through unionization,” the workers said. Like Many Starbucks employees were unionized before them., the Hopewell workers have urged the company to sign onto a list of “Fair Election Principles” crafted by the union, Starbucks Workers United.

Starbucks asks them to not interfere in the unionization process. Starbucks has so far not shown any interest in such principles. In fact, the company seems to be focusing on union fighting efforts in Mesa (Arizona), where a union election will begin next week.

Mesa employees receive an email from Andrea Streedain. She is the regional vice president for the Western Mountain region. This email includes six states in the northwestWorkers are told flatly to vote against unionization by, “We want you to vote no,” the email says, as uncovered by More Perfect Union.

In its efforts to stop a union in Arizona, the NLRB has recently given the company a loss. The company had moved to make the union district-wide – a classic anti-union move that would dilute the election to encompass stores that haven’t been embroiled in official organizing efforts. The labor board’s regional director ruled against the company and allowed votes to continue store by store.

To fight the union, the company has used other tactics. Starbucks is an example. sent executives to Buffalo during workers’ initial union driveto intimidate and possibly surveil workers organizing stores. Workers Buffalo’s Depew LocationThe company is arranging employees in a way that disrupts employees’ schedules and causes chaos in organizational efforts. It has also taken other measures. Attempts to divide workers – something that the company Doubtful claims the union would do – like closing organizing stores temporarily, supposedly for training purposes.

Tallahassee workers have also reported that the company has contracted Littler Mendelson law firm to assist with union busting efforts. This is a move that has been widely condemned. its decades-longIt is a mission to destroy union efforts. It is. one of the biggestUnion-busting companies in the country