Starbucks workers vote for a union, a first for coffee chain

Starbucks workers at a store in upstate New York have voted to join a union, a first for the coffee chain's more than 8,000 company-owned stores in the U.S. 

The election result — the first of three to be announced — came from Tom Miller, a field examiner with the National Labor Relations Board's office in Buffalo. The ballot counting for two additional Starbucks stores in the Buffalo area continued Thursday afternoon. 

Of 27 ballots cast, 19 favored joining a union and eight voted against it, Miller said Thursday during a counting that took place over videoconference.