Starbucks workers in Buffalo, N.Y., vote to unionize, a 1st for the company in U.S.

Starbucks workers have voted to unionize at a store in Buffalo, N.Y., a first for the 50-year-old coffee retailer in the U.S. and the latest sign that the labour movement is stirring after decades of decline.

The National Labour Relations Board said Thursday that workers voted 19-8 in favour of a union at one of three locations that voted on unionization. 

A second store rejected the union in a vote of 12-8, but the union said it might challenge that result because it wasn't confident all of the eligible votes had been counted. The results of a third store could not be determined because of several challenged votes.

If the labour board certifies the vote — a process expected to take about a week — it would be the first Starbucks-owned store in the U.S. to unionize.

Starbucks has actively fought unionization at its cafés for decades, saying they function best when the company works directly with employees, which it calls "partners." 

Starbucks workers watching Thursday's vote count over Zoom on a big screen at a union office in Buffalo erupted into cheers and chants of "Elmwood, Elmwood, Elmwood!" when the results at that location were announced. They jumped up and down and hugged. 

"It has been an unbelievably long road to get to this point," said Michelle Eisen, an 11-year employee at the Elmwood store. "As of today, we have done it, in spite of everything the company has thrown at us."

Starbucks spokesperson Reggie Borges said the company hasn't yet determined its next steps, but noted that there were close votes at two of the Buffalo stores. 

"Every partner matters. It's how we built the company and how we will continue to run the company," Borges said. "We will continue to focus on the best Starbucks experience we can deliver for every partner and our customers."

Some local baristas had decried what they said were aggressive company tactics, including flooding Buffalo locations with executives, holding meetings with employees and even bringing in ex-CEO Howard Schultz to talk to workers and extol the virtues of existing wage hikes and benefits.

Starbucks denies that any of its actions amounted to union busting.

The company had several unionized cafes and a roastery in the United States the 1980s, but all eventually decertified. It beat back more recent organizing campaigns in Philadelphia and New York City.

Workers at all three stores began voting by mail last month on whether they wanted to be represented by Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union. 

The union vote involved about 100 workers, a tiny fraction of the roughly 220,000 Starbucks employees in the U.S.