Starbucks union drive goes to Texas as San Antonio store files for election

San Antonio, Texas – The Starbucks union drive has reached the Lone Star State as baristas in San Antonio have successfully filed for a union election!

Starbucks workers at a store in San Antonio, Texas, have become the first in the Lone Star State to file a union election petition.
Starbucks workers at a store in San Antonio, Texas, have become the first in the Lone Star State to file a union election petition.  © IMAGO / VCG

Starbucks workers at a location in San Antonio, Texas, announced on Tuesday that they filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

The Starbucks unionization wave has swept the nation, reaching around 65 stores around the country so far, but the San Antonio location has become the first in Texas to join the movement.

The store is hoping to build on the success of their counterparts in Buffalo, New York, who succeeded in winning the first two unionized stores in the country despite intense backlash from corporate leadership.

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"As essential workers we have essential needs in order to care for and service this community we love that we will fight for," tweeted local organizing committee member Gaz Garcia.

"Starbucks decided we were essential workers while stores stayed open through the pandemic," he continued. "If we’re going to be classified as essential in these times we should be able to have the resources we need to run our store and keep our employees healthy and taken care of."

"We already act like a union," the organizing committee added in their letter to Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson. "We want to take what we already have, put it on paper, legalize it, protect it, and expand our ability to advocate for our needs and for each other's dignity."

The news comes as Starbucks baristas at three more locations in Buffalo are casting their ballots in their own NLRB election.

Cover photo: IMAGO / VCG

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