Starbucks Union Vote in Buffalo Energizes Labor Leaders
Union officials say push will help fuel broader organizing movement; others say it is too small to make a difference
Votes were counted Thursday from workers at three Starbucks-owned stores in the western New York region on whether to form a union.
PHOTO: LIBBY MARCH FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Starbucks Corp. workers may have voted as of now to unionize only a single store in the Buffalo, N.Y., area, but union leaders say the one win and the workers’ organizing efforts will energize similar pushes across the country.
The vote is “an incredibly symbolic win that other workers are going to find inspiration from,” said Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO. “Workers in organizing campaigns everywhere are sharing this and saying, ‘Look what they did, we can do it, too,’ ” she said.
Others aren’t as sure. So far it is only one store, and unions traditionally have struggled to organize service-oriented industries such as restaurants.
“Is organizing a handful of folks in Buffalo going to do much to advance the labor movement? I don’t believe it is,” said Marcel Debruge, chair of the traditional labor relations practice group at Burr & Forman LLP and who works with companies on labor relations. He said the group of workers is too small, and that fluid bargaining units where employees come and go don’t tend to lend themselves to collective bargaining.
Votes were counted Thursday from workers at three Starbucks-owned stores in the western New York region on whether to form a union. Employees at another store voted against forming a union, an outcome the union said it is challenging. Results from the third store were unclear as of Thursday’s vote count because ballots were challenged during the counting process.
The monthslong union push attracted top Starbucks leaders—and former Chief Executive Howard Shultz —to the union friendly Buffalo area to try to keep the workers from organizing. Starbucks on Thursday pointed to the election’s split results and said the company values all of its workers.
The Starbucks result comes as workers nationwide have been pressing for changes. Amid a tight labor market, employees have been pushing for higher wages, expanded benefits, safer workplaces and added staffing. Pro-union Starbucks workers said they would ask the company to bargain with them over pay and other matters.
Workers at Deere & Co.—after rejecting two contracts and going on strike for more than a month—ratified a contract that included pay increases, bonuses and improvements to pension funding. Employees at Kellogg Co. recently rejected a tentative agreement and pressed on with their strike, which has lasted two months. Staffers atMondelez International Inc. have also gone on strike this year, as did workers from Volvo.
Organized labor also has a supporter in the White House. President Biden referenced his “unyielding support for unions” in a statement Friday backing Kellogg’s striking workers.
The AFL-CIO, which has 57 member unions with more than 12 million members, has seen an increase in workers who have expressed interest through the group’s website in organizing, ranging from Starbucks workers to retail and restaurant employees, said Christian Sweeney, the AFL-CIO’s deputy organizing director.
“I think the pandemic laid bare…their vulnerabilities, and people are responding by expressing their interest in organizing,” Mr. Sweeney said.
Kellogg employees have pressed on with their strike, which has lasted two months.
PHOTO: LILY SMITH/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Union officials say push will help fuel broader organizing movement; others say it is too small to make a difference
Votes were counted Thursday from workers at three Starbucks-owned stores in the western New York region on whether to form a union.
PHOTO: LIBBY MARCH FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Starbucks Corp. workers may have voted as of now to unionize only a single store in the Buffalo, N.Y., area, but union leaders say the one win and the workers’ organizing efforts will energize similar pushes across the country.
The vote is “an incredibly symbolic win that other workers are going to find inspiration from,” said Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO. “Workers in organizing campaigns everywhere are sharing this and saying, ‘Look what they did, we can do it, too,’ ” she said.
Others aren’t as sure. So far it is only one store, and unions traditionally have struggled to organize service-oriented industries such as restaurants.
“Is organizing a handful of folks in Buffalo going to do much to advance the labor movement? I don’t believe it is,” said Marcel Debruge, chair of the traditional labor relations practice group at Burr & Forman LLP and who works with companies on labor relations. He said the group of workers is too small, and that fluid bargaining units where employees come and go don’t tend to lend themselves to collective bargaining.
Votes were counted Thursday from workers at three Starbucks-owned stores in the western New York region on whether to form a union. Employees at another store voted against forming a union, an outcome the union said it is challenging. Results from the third store were unclear as of Thursday’s vote count because ballots were challenged during the counting process.
The monthslong union push attracted top Starbucks leaders—and former Chief Executive Howard Shultz —to the union friendly Buffalo area to try to keep the workers from organizing. Starbucks on Thursday pointed to the election’s split results and said the company values all of its workers.
The Starbucks result comes as workers nationwide have been pressing for changes. Amid a tight labor market, employees have been pushing for higher wages, expanded benefits, safer workplaces and added staffing. Pro-union Starbucks workers said they would ask the company to bargain with them over pay and other matters.
Workers at Deere & Co.—after rejecting two contracts and going on strike for more than a month—ratified a contract that included pay increases, bonuses and improvements to pension funding. Employees at Kellogg Co. recently rejected a tentative agreement and pressed on with their strike, which has lasted two months. Staffers atMondelez International Inc. have also gone on strike this year, as did workers from Volvo.
Organized labor also has a supporter in the White House. President Biden referenced his “unyielding support for unions” in a statement Friday backing Kellogg’s striking workers.
The AFL-CIO, which has 57 member unions with more than 12 million members, has seen an increase in workers who have expressed interest through the group’s website in organizing, ranging from Starbucks workers to retail and restaurant employees, said Christian Sweeney, the AFL-CIO’s deputy organizing director.
“I think the pandemic laid bare…their vulnerabilities, and people are responding by expressing their interest in organizing,” Mr. Sweeney said.
Kellogg employees have pressed on with their strike, which has lasted two months.
PHOTO: LILY SMITH/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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