Pleasanton Starbucks Workers Vote To Unionize: Reports

PLEASANTON, CA — Workers at a Starbucks in downtown Pleasanton voted 8-4 to unionize, becoming the 19th such store in California, according to union organizers. Employees at the store at Main Street and Rose Avenue finalized their agreement Wednesday afternoon, joining a small, but growing number of unionized stores across the country. Currently, 7,500 workers at more than 290 stores across the country are represented by Starbucks Workers United, according to the union. That represents under three percent of the 9,000 stores across the country.

Nearby, stores in San Francisco and Berkeley have unionized, and workers in Oakland said last month that they are in the process of organizing.

"Thank you to our friends who helped us through this process and thank you to our partners for sticking with us and fighting for a fair workplace," Tasha Fields, an organizer, said in a statement shared with Pleasanton Weekly. "We are so excited for what is to come and are so grateful for the support we have from our friends, family, and loyal customers."

Starbucks Workers United representatives allege that managers have been cutting hours, ignoring safety regulations, and failing to provide adequate staffing. They also allege that Starbucks managers have fired nearly 200 leaders to thwart unionization, a claim the company denies.

"Starbucks trains managers that no partner will be disciplined for engaging in lawful union activity and that there will be no tolerance for any unlawful anti-union behavior,” the company said in a statement shared with Bay City News.

Starbucks officials told Pleasanton Weekly that they will closely follow guidelines established by the National Labor Relations Board for collective bargaining.

“Starbucks has fully honored the process laid out by the NLRB for single-store union representation elections, has encouraged partners to exercise their right to vote and has recognized the outcome of properly conducted elections," a spokesperson told the Weekly. "We look forward to meeting Workers United in-person to begin the single-store collective bargaining process."