Starbucks workers celebrated Friday’s victory in Cleveland, officially achieving 200 union election wins in more than 30 U.S. States. This remarkable feat in the face of a full-throttle economy is quite remarkable. union-busting campaign by the coffee company’s management and its billionaire interim CEO, Howard Schultz.
The speed at which Starbucks workers across the country built upon the historic victory in Buffalo in December — when employees voted to form the company’s first-ever unionized store in the U.S. — has stunned observers who’ve seen the nation’s labor movement wither in recent decades amid a ruthless corporate assault.
“Across the country, Starbucks workers are striking against poor working conditions and the company’s open hostility to Starbucks Workers United’s nationwide union drive,” said Robert Reich, the former head of the U.S. Department of Labor. “In one year, 200 U.S. Starbucks stores have unionized. I’m amazed by what these courageous baristas have achieved.”
As More Perfect Union, a progressive media outlet noted Friday, “Eight months ago there were 0 unionized Starbucks stores.”
“This is a historic moment in American labor,” the publication added.
In addition to the number of elections won thus far, experts have also taken note of the union’s strikingly high win percentage and the dozens of unanimous victories it has scored at locations across the country, an indication of Starbucks workers’ overwhelming desire to organize in the face of poor treatment.
“Starbucks Workers United has won an amazing rate — about 5 of 6 elections,” wroteSteven Greenhouse, labor journalist. “It has won 52 unanimous votes.”
According to More Perfect Union’s latest tally316 Starbucks workers have filed for union elections with National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Starbucks workers’ nationwide organizing drive has helped fuel an uptick in union activity in the U.S. in recent months following a year in which overall union membership declined.
The NLRB released earlier this month saidThe number of union election petitions filed with this board between October 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022 was up 58% compared with the first three quarters Fiscal Year 2021.
The labor board also noted an 16% increase in the number of employers being charged with unfair labor practices (ULP). Starbucks workers have lodged hundreds of unfair labor practice charges in recent months, accusing the company’s management of firing union organizers, slashing hours, and illegally threateningto deny unionized stores pay raises or other benefits.
Starbucks employees who voted for unionization are not done yet. They must now win contracts. arduous task given the CEO and management’s open disdainFor the collective bargaining push.
At some locations that have won union elections, Starbucks workers have walked off the job to protest management’s refusal to engage in contract negotiations as required by law.
“Partners are ready to bargain. Our managers are ready to bargain,” Starbucks Workers United said in a statement last month announcing Seattle employees’ plans to strike. “Three months after we won our election, we refuse to wait any longer… See you on the picket line.”
