Starbucks baristas file 16 union election petitions in one day

Portland, Oregon – Monday was a huge day for the Starbucks unionization movement as 16 stores filed for their own union votes.

Starbucks workers in Eugene, Oregon, celebrate successfully filing a petition for a union election.
Starbucks workers in Eugene, Oregon, celebrate successfully filing a petition for a union election.  © Screenshot/Facebook/SBWorkersUnited

After a Starbucks location in Buffalo became the first in the country to unionize last December, the organizing push has taken hold around the country.

On Monday alone, 16 Starbucks stores across the states of New York, Kansas, California, Missouri, Oregon, and Washington joined the ranks of locations that have filed union election petitions with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Their announcements bring the number of Starbucks locations to file petitions to more than 50.

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Throughout the campaign, the coffee chain has gained a reputation for its union-busting activities, including sending corporate representatives to monitor stores seeking to organize, subjecting employees to anti-union meetings, and emailing and texting employees anti-union messaging.

Meanwhile, baristas have received support from big-name politicians like Bernie Sanders, AOC, and Seattle City Council Member Kshama Sawant in their fight for better wages, benefits, and safety measures on the job.

Workers' tenacity seems to be paying off with record election petitions, but that wasn't the only big development Starbucks union supporters celebrated on Monday.

That same day, union ballots went out to three more Buffalo locations that previously filed NLRB petitions.

It was also the first day of contract bargaining for Buffalo's Elmwood and Genesee St. locations – the coffee chain's first two unionized stores.

Apart from their historic win in December, it's safe to say Monday was probably the biggest day so far in the Starbucks unionization wave!

Cover photo: Screenshot/Facebook/SBWorkersUnited

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