Workers at three other Starbucks stores in western New York voted to join the union, expanding the union’s growing presence in the world’s largest coffee chain.
The National Labor Council on Wednesday counted the ballots for the three elections, showing a narrow victory for the union in each. The board must at least confirm the results before it can be formalized.
Starbucks employees have joined Workers United, the same association that has opened Starbucks stores nationwide since last year. The union won two more elections in New York and one in Mesa, Arizona, creating one of the most followed union efforts in the United States in recent years. He has lost only one election so far.
The number of United stores rose to six as a result of the latest vote count, but the union has called for elections to more than 100 stores in 26 states. None of the U.S.-owned Starbucks locations had any union representation prior to this campaign, known as Starbucks Workers United.
The union won three counts of vote on Wednesday, with a total of 8-7, 15-12 and 15-12. Approximately 120 employees from all three stores will now have union representation.
The company has resisted organizational efforts all this time. Executives held meetings with workers to prevent them from joining, while company lawyers tried to slow down the campaign by litigation with the Labor Council.
The union tried to hold elections on individual stores, while Starbucks asked the Labor Council to faction the stores into broader elections on a regional basis. Larger elections will often benefit employers as they reduce union support in individual areas.
Starbucks has lost legal argument every time, and a recent board decision dismissing Starbucks ’appeal could have made it harder for the company to delay the vote.
Meanwhile, Starbucks has released several open union supporters, including a seven -member group in Memphis, Tennessee. Starbucks said it fired the workers for legitimate reasons, but the union filed a lawsuit against the company with the labor council, accusing it of unlawful retaliation and demanding the return of the workers.
Source: Huffpost
