Report: Starbucks unionization effort hits close to home
The location of the latest Starbucks store whose employees have reportedly cast a unanimous vote to unionize is a little surprising.
According to CNBC, employees at a Seattle Starbucks store have unanimously voted to form a union under the umbrella of Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Ten employees of the Seattle-based company cast votes, with nine ballots in favor of unionizing accepted and one challenged and cast out. There were no votes against joining a union.
In total, six other Starbucks stores have also voted in favor of joining Starbucks Workers United – five locations in Buffalo, N.Y. and one in Mesa, Ariz. One store in Buffalo has voted against unionizing.
The ballots will need to be certified by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)'s regional director, which may take a week. Then the union will have to negotiate a contract with Starbucks.
[Read More: More Starbucks stores begin move to unionize — in the U.S. and Canada]
Starbucks Workers United has already won the right to represent workers at two stores in Buffalo. The union has also filed to hold additional elections at more than 150 company-owned Starbucks stores across 26 states, including another six Seattle stores. The Seattle locations voting pro-union reportedly include the company’s flagship Reserve Roastery store. The total number of Starbucks stores where union activity is occurring represents a very small percentage of the coffee giant’s nearly 9,000 locations.
New interim CEO enters the mix
All this is happening as Howard Schultz, the founder and former CEO of Starbucks, is returning to the company as interim CEO and will also rejoin the Starbucks board. Schultz, who will be compensated $1 for his work, will also assist the company with its search for a new CEO and help onboard the new leader.
Schultz has been widely regarded as one of the nation’s most politically outspoken and high-profile executives. In previous years, he took very public and progressive stands on such issues as gun control, gay rights and student debt. In 2016, there was public speculation he would run for political office after the election of Donald Trump, but it never came to pass.
However, according to CNBC, Starbucks sent top executives and Schultz (at the time not serving the company in any official capacity) to three Buffalo stores that were holding unionization votes, which resulted in workers filing a federal labor charge accusing Starbucks of illegal anti-union activity. Starbucks denies these allegations.
On March 15, Starbucks received a letter from a coalition of more than 75 shareholders, including Trillium Asset Management, urging the chain to make changes in how it deals with growing unionization efforts. In the letter, the shareholders cited growing public support for unions and recommended that Starbucks stop anti-union communications with employees and commit to negotiating with unions in good faith.