FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 29, 2022
media@workers-united.org
New York, NY — Today the National Labor Relations Board counted the ballots for the mail ballot union election at the Astor Place Starbucks. The union won the vote (11-2, w/ 5 challenged ballots) making Astor Place the second unionized Starbucks in NYC, following on the heels of the historic win at the flagship Roastery in Chelsea Market earlier this month.
Also today, another Starbucks location, in Farmingville (Suffolk County), formally filed their union petition with the NLRB, after going public some weeks ago in response to the union-busting campaign they were experiencing in their store prior to filing. This store, with a busy drive-thru operation and located next to a CityMD Covid testing site has suffered greatly during the pandemic, being regularly understaffed and with workers exposed to Covid due to the clinic patients who would come in while awaiting their test results. Many of the partners contracted Covid while at work.
The total number of Starbucks union petitions in downstate NY stands at eleven (with two victories, and nine pending elections), and approximately 250 nation-wide. There are now 41 unionized Starbucks nationwide. Three more downstate stores: Great Neck (LI), Massapequa (LI) and Ceasar’s Bay (Brooklyn) will have their vote count in-person at the NLRB office in Brooklyn at 11am on Monday, May 2nd.
From partners at Astor Place:
“Winning the election for us is huge, it means we are a step closer towards a better future for
Starbucks partners. Our partners and organizing committee have faced adversity with resilience, and this win makes it all worth it. Knowing we are part of a nationwide effort, we are honored to stand with our organizing stores, and looking forward to the road ahead.” – Owen Burnham, Starbucks partner of eight months
“For me, winning the election is more than just an accomplishment. It’s a step closer to trul living up to the ‘partners for partners’ motto.” – Edwin Palma Solis, Starbucks partner of eight months
From the partners who filed today in Farmingville:
“Partners and customers are more than just numbers, they’re people; we’re people. At the heart of Starbucks Coffee Company is the desire to foster human connection with a cup of coffee, and that integral piece of human connection has been lost. Putting partners first is the only way to achieve the company’s overall vision. To give partners the voice they need, a union is simply necessary.” – Sam Galdemis, Starbucks partner of four years
“Starbucks has shown time and time again that they care more about money than anything else.
Unionizing means taking the power back into our own hands, and returning back to the heart of this company – the partners.” – Sam Cornetta, Starbucks partner of 2.5 years
“Starbucks boasts and advertises a kind of family environment with its workers, but their actions show that they only care for one thing: money and control.” – Brendan Lopez, Starbucks partner of six months
The Starbucks Workers United campaign continues to grow steam despite a pervasive union busting campaign that has involved one-on-one employee meetings with management, group captive audience meetings conducted by management, anti-union materials being distributed at the store, and employee write-ups for minor infractions like lateness that occurred many months prior. Since Howard Schultz’s return, the union-busting campaign has only worsened – the company has put out fake tweets they attribute to the union and Schultz has announced possible new benefits for Starbucks employees that he erroneously stated could not be provided to unionized employees.
Across the country Starbucks has relied on retaliatory practices to intimidate partners. Starbucks has temporarily closed stores that were seeking to unionize in Buffalo, as well as fired union leaders there. They also fired the “Memphis Seven,” a group of partners seeking to unionize their store in Tennessee, in retaliation for their union organizing. The company has continued to refuse to sign the Fair Election Principles which shows a lack of commitment to neutrality towards the organizing workers, and they have contracted with notorious union-busting law firm Littler Mendelson. Workers United has filed more than 80 Unfair Labor Practice charges on behalf of organizing Starbucks partners across the country.
Mail ballots will go out for Astoria – Astoria Blvd./31st St. on May 6th. The election dates for Nanuet (Rockland), Westbury – The Gallery (Nassau), Astoria – Ditmars Blvd.(Queens), and the Williamsburg Reserve (Brooklyn) have not yet been set. The union has requested mail ballot elections for these stores with a mail out date of May 5th but Starbucks has appealed the union filings, delaying the process and making workers attend hearings before they will receive an election date.
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About: Starbucks Workers United is a union of Stabucks Workers, by Starbucks Workers, for
Starbucks Workers, organizing with the support of Workers United.
Twitter / Instagram / Facebook: @SBWorkersUnited @WorkersUnitedNY