{"id":1554,"date":"2023-03-22T12:09:13","date_gmt":"2023-03-22T16:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pilr.richmond.edu\/?p=1554"},"modified":"2023-03-22T12:09:13","modified_gmt":"2023-03-22T16:09:13","slug":"the-unionization-surge-of-starbucks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/pilr\/2023\/03\/22\/the-unionization-surge-of-starbucks\/","title":{"rendered":"The Unionization Surge of Starbucks"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Mariam Rasooli\"\"<\/p>\n

On December 9, 2021, employees of a Starbucks in Buffalo, New York voted to become the first unionized Starbucks in the nation, by a vote of 19-8.[1]<\/a> The unionization of this store triggered a surge of organizing efforts in other locations across the country. Within less than a year, in October 2022, employees at an estimated 245 Starbucks locations had voted to unionize.[2]<\/a> Currently, the number of unionized Starbucks has risen to 284 stores.[3]<\/a> Pro-union employees advocated for better staffing, training, and pay\u2014including steady wage increases for employees who remain with the company long-term.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

Prior to this surge, unionization at businesses like Starbucks was relatively uncommon. An analysis of union election petitions filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) found that a decade ago, fewer than 4% of union election petitions came from the food and drink sector.[5]<\/a> By May 2022, this sector made up nearly 28% of new petitions to unionize.[6]<\/a> It\u2019s clear that there has been a significant shift in the labor movement with this recent wave of unionization of Starbucks employees, but why now?<\/p>\n

Experts say the COVID-19 pandemic is the biggest factor in this union surge.[7]<\/a> In the earlier stages of the pandemic, many workers found themselves in lockdown\u2014while others had no choice but to work on-site despite the health risks.[8]<\/a> The disillusionment with employer-employee relations, coupled with the stress of working in the service industry during a pandemic, likely stoked discussions on labor issues. [9]<\/a> While employees were working through the worst parts of the pandemic with no significant raise in benefits, companies like Starbucks increased their global revenues to $6.7 billion by April 2021, while enrollment in its loyalty rewards program shot up 18%.[10]<\/a> When the Starbucks employees in Buffalo successfully unionized, it set off a chain reaction as other employees gained the motivation to organize themselves.<\/p>\n

The unionization efforts have not come easily. Workers United\u2014the union responsible for organizing Starbucks stores\u2014has accused Starbucks of engaging in union-busting tactics such as intimidation, retaliation, and bargaining in bad faith by drawing out the process of negotiations.[11]<\/a> From December 2021 to 2022, 457 unfair labor practice charges were filed against Starbucks with the NLRB; likewise, Starbucks filed 47 charges against Workers United.[12]<\/a> These allegations have resulted in litigation brought before the NLRB and federal courts.<\/p>\n

Last month, in a case brought by the NLRB for Starbucks\u2019 alleged firing of over 200 employees for union activities, the Starbucks labor movement encountered a major and unforeseen setback.[13]<\/a> A federal judge in Michigan issued an injunction banning Starbucks from firing employees for seeking to form a union or engaging in other collective activities.[14]<\/a> This injunction would have allowed the NLRB to come before the judge and seek speedier reinstatement of employees believed to have been unlawfully discharged for union organizing, a process that could otherwise takes months or even years.[15]<\/a> This would have been a sizable success for the NLRB and Starbucks employees. However, six days later the judge withdrew his injunction, announcing that he made unspecified \u201cerrors.\u201d[16]<\/a> Scaling back the nationwide scope of his earlier injunction, the judge issued a new one that was limited to a store in Michigan where a labor board judge found that an employee was unlawfully fired for union activities.[17]<\/a> In his opinion the judge stated that the evidence presented only supported an injunction for that single store.[18]<\/a><\/p>\n

Although Starbucks employees lost the protections that would have been granted had the earlier injunction not been withdrawn, the increase in efforts to unionize are not likely to end. A survey conducted in August 2022 showed that 71% of Americans support labor unions\u2014the highest approval rate in the U.S. since 1965. In addition, the NLRB under the Biden Administration has advanced its pro-union agenda, most notably in its reaching of a favorable settlement with Amazon regarding the right to unionize without retaliation. [19]<\/a> The combination of union support amongst the presidential administration and in popular sentiment points towards a continuance of the Starbucks labor movement.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Mary Yang, Starbucks Union Organizing Gave Labor a Jolt of Energy in 2022<\/em>, Nat. Pub. Radio (Dec. 9, 2022), \u00a0<\/em>https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2022\/12\/09\/1140424418\/starbucks-union-organizing-gave-labor-a-jolt-of-energy-in-2022<\/a>; Alina Selyukh, Starbucks Workers Form Their 1st<\/sup> Union in the U.S. in a Big Win for Labor<\/em>, Nat. Pub. Radio (Dec. 9, 2021), https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2021\/12\/09\/1062150045\/starbucks-first-union-buffalo-new-york<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Sean Peek, Drip, Drip, Drip: Lessons From the Starbucks Union Movement<\/em>, Business.com (Feb. 21, 2023), https:\/\/www.business.com\/articles\/starbucks-union-movement\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a>Current Starbucks Statistics<\/em>, Union Election Data (last updated Mar. 13, 2023), https:\/\/unionelections.org\/data\/starbucks\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Starbucks Workers Form Their 1st<\/sup> Union in the U.S. in a Big Win for Labor<\/em>, Nat. Pub. Radio (Dec. 9, 2021), https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2021\/12\/09\/1062150045\/starbucks-first-union-buffalo-new-york<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Sean Peek, Drip, Drip, Drip: Lessons From the Starbucks Union Movement<\/em>, Business.com (Feb. 21, 2023), https:\/\/www.business.com\/articles\/starbucks-union-movement\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Q.ai, Starbucks Union: Why Are Workers Unionizing Now? What Do Unions Really Mean to Investors?, <\/em>Forbes (Dec. 19, 2022), https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/qai\/2022\/12\/19\/starbucks-union-why-are-workers-unionizing-now-what-do-unions-really-mean-to-investors\/?sh=18af2ae21445<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> Julie Creswell, Starbucks Says Its U.S. Sales Have Made A \u2018Full Recovery.\u2019<\/em>, New York Times (Oct. 18, 2021), https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/04\/27\/business\/starbucks-earnings.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> Mary Yang, Starbucks Union Organizing Gave Labor a Jolt of Energy in 2022<\/em>, Nat. Pub. Radio (Dec. 9, 2022), \u00a0<\/em>https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2022\/12\/09\/1140424418\/starbucks-union-organizing-gave-labor-a-jolt-of-energy-in-2022<\/a><\/p>\n

[12]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n

[13]<\/a> Noam Scheiber, Judge Bans Starbucks From Firing Union Supporters<\/em>, New York Times (Feb. 22, 2023), https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/02\/17\/business\/starbucks-union-ruling.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[14]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n

[15]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n

[16]<\/a> Noam Scheiber, Judge Scales Back Ruling Against Starbucks in Union Fight<\/em>, New York Times (Feb. 23, 2023), https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/02\/23\/business\/economy\/starbucks-union-ruling.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[17]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n

[18]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n

[19]<\/a> Ryan Grim, Biden\u2019s NLRB Was Essential to Unionizing the Amazon Warehouse in Staten Island, <\/em>Intercept (Apr. 22, 2022), https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2022\/04\/22\/amazon-warehouse-union-biden-nlrb\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Mariam Rasooli On December 9, 2021, employees of a Starbucks in Buffalo, New York voted to become the first unionized Starbucks in the nation, by a vote of 19-8.[1] The unionization of this store triggered a surge of organizing efforts in other locations across the country. Within less than a year, in October 2022, employees at an estimated 245 Starbucks locations had voted to … Continue reading The Unionization Surge of Starbucks<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5470,"featured_media":1555,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51366,67126],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-post","category-recent-posts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/pilr\/files\/2023\/03\/Picture-1-Small-1.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/pilr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/pilr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/pilr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/pilr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5470"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/pilr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1554"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/pilr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1556,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/pilr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1554\/revisions\/1556"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/pilr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/pilr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/pilr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/pilr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}