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Seattle Starbucks Roastery workers unionize

‘The bonds we share between workers are our greatest strength.’ 

 

SEATTLE (April 22, 2022) — Starbucks employees at the company’s marquee store in the city where the coffee chain was founded and is headquartered, the Seattle Reserve Roastery at 1124 Pike St. in Capitol Hill, have voted 38-27 to join together and unionize in National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election results announced Thursday.

Amid aggressive anti-union efforts by Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and company executives, the unionization of the flagship Starbucks location is a big win for Starbucks Workers United. It is the second roastery in the nation to unionize (the first was in New York City) and the second store in Seattle (the first was the store at Broadway & Denny). To date, the union has now won 26 out of 28 unionization votes at Starbucks locations nationwide.

“This vote signals something that the Roastery organizers always knew to be true: that the bonds we share between workers are our greatest strength,” said Brennen Collins, a Seattle Roastery employee. “We can resist and thrive, even among a storm of disinformation and fear-mongering perpetrated against our best interests.”

Since the first Starbucks store to unionize made history in Buffalo, N.Y. in December 2021, more than 200 stores have filed for NLRB elections across the country. In Washington state, 13 Starbucks stores have filed for and/or already won union elections, the latest being employees at a Bellingham store that filed last week.

For the latest updates, follow @SBWorkersUnited and @SeattleSBWU.

READY FOR A VOICE AT WORK? If you’re a Starbucks partner, email sbworkersunited@gmail.com for more information. If you work elsewhere, get more information about how you can join together with co-workers and negotiate for better conditions and a fair return for your hard work. Or go ahead and contact a union organizer today!

Union members and community supporters are invited to celebrate the Starbucks Roastery workers’ victory at a solidarity rally and march on Saturday, April 23 at 1 p.m. at Cal Anderson Park, 1635 11th Ave. in Seattle. Participants will be calling on the company to end its union-busting tactics and reinstate Starbucks workers who have been fired or had their hours cuts in response to union organizing.

CHECK OUT THE UNION DIFFERENCE in Washington: higher wages, affordable health and dental care, job and retirement security.

FIND OUT HOW TO JOIN TOGETHER with your co-workers to negotiate for better wages, benefits, and a voice at work. Or go ahead and contact a union organizer today!