2nd Santa Cruz Starbucks Votes To Begin Union Efforts

SANTA CRUZ, CA — A second Starbucks store in Santa Cruz elected Monday to start a unionization process, numerous outlets report.

The store, located on Mission and Dufour streets, joined a growing list of locations around the country pushing to join Starbucks Workers United, an affiliate of Service Employees International Union. So far, 54 locations in several states have filed petitions to the National Labor Relations Board to unionize. On Monday alone, 16 locations voted.

So far, just two locations in Buffalo, N.Y., have held successful elections.

The vote comes ten days after the Starbucks at Ocean and Water streets became the first location in California to file a petition to start the unionization process. The National Labor Relations Board will hold elections at both Santa Cruz locations.

Starbucks has officially come out against unionization. The Santa Cruz Sentinel reported screenshots of anti-union text messages sent to employees, among other tactics. The chain has also requested the NLRB refuse elections on a store-by-store basis, according to a report from Restaurant Dive.