Starbucks Baristas In Brookline, Allston To Host Union Ballot Count

BROOKLINE, MA — Employees at two local Starbucks locations on Harvard Street in Brookline and Commonwealth Avenue in Allston are inviting community members to a live union ballot count at the Brookline Booksmith on Monday, April 11 from 1 to 3 p.m.

The count will determine whether the two stores will unionize nearly four months after they first filed paperwork with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

"We are organizing a union in Boston because we believe that this is the best way to contribute meaningfully to our partnership with the company," employees wrote in a letter to Starbucks president and CEO Kevin Johnson back in December. "We want to ensure that our voices are heard and that we have equal power to affect positive change for our store, district, and company.”

Monday’s event at the Brookline Booksmith will feature light refreshments as the NLRB counts the baristas’ votes via Zoom. Participants are asked to RSVP in advance here.

The cafés in Brookline and Allston are two of 11 Starbucks stores that have filed paperwork to form unions in Massachusetts. The state's efforts started in December, shortly after employees in Buffalo, New York became the first in the country to successfully form a union of their own.

Read more:

• Pro-Union Baristas At MA Starbucks Say They're Being 'Driven Out’
• Brookline Starbucks Employees Move To Unionize After NY Win
• Starbucks Speaks Out On Unionization In Brookline, Other Sites