Credit Card Tips At Union Worcester Starbucks Allowed Under New Agreement

WORCESTER, MA — Unionized Starbucks workers at the East Central café in Worcester will have the ability to accept credit card tips, joining colleagues at non-union locations across the region.

The Starbucks Workers United union and the Seattle-based chain are entering talks to ink collective bargaining agreements with workers at unionized stores, something Starbucks has been fighting since a nationwide unionization effort began in 2021.

“While there is plenty of work ahead, coming together to develop this framework is a significant step forward and a clear demonstration of a shared commitment to working collaboratively and with mutual respect,” Starbucks Workers United said this week.

As part of the negotiations, Starbucks has agreed to allow workers at unionized stores to accept tips via credit and debit card. The East Central Starbucks was the only one in the Worcester area where that practice was not allowed. Starbucks had previously said credit card tipping was subject to collective bargaining, and so the company couldn't allow the practice at unionized locations — a policy that likely deprived union employees of higher wages enjoyed by workers at non-union cafés.

Starbucks began allowing credit card tips at non-union cafés in September 2022, a major shift in the cash-only tipping practice dating back to the company's founding more than 30 years ago. The chain still pools tips and distributes them evenly among each store's employees.

The employees at the East Central Starbucks unanimously voted to unionize in June 2022 on the same day as stores in Brookline, Westford and Boston. Employees at more than 200 Starbucks locations have joined unions since April 2021. The company has attempted to stifle the wave of union activity, and an NLRB judge in a March said Starbucks engaged in, "widespread misconduct demonstrating a general disregard for the employees’ fundamental rights."