Starbucks Workers Vote To Unionize At Morris County Shop

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ — Starbucks employees in Morris County have joined the coffee chain's nationwide unionization drive, becoming the fifth unionized location in New Jersey.

The unionization push comes from a Starbucks location at 401 Route 10, Ledgewood.

Four other locations in New Jersey are among the 350 Starbucks shops that have unionized in recent years under Starbucks Workers United, the union says.

Workers at the store in Ledgewood voted last week 17-4 to unionize, according to the National Labor Relations Board.

Starbucks employees in Ledgewood followed in the footsteps of those in Hopewell, Hamilton, Summit, and Montclair, who all started the process of unionizing in early 2022.

Starbucks employees in Buffalo, New York, voted to unionize in late 2021, making it the chain's only unionized location at the time. Hundreds of locations have voted to unionize since then. Corporate opposition has occasionally resulted in strikes and hundreds of federal complaints of union busting.

According to the Ledgewood employees, their decision to unionize came from a necessity to protect themselves from management.

"For too long we have suffered at the hands of poor management and unfair treatment. Through working with Starbucks Workers United, we are seeking to protect ourselves, our livelihoods, and our morals," the unionized employees said.

Staff at unionized New Jersey shops have made the following requests:

• pay increases
• higher quality training
• higher quality healthcare
• more consistent scheduling
• health and safety improvements
• protection of benefits for part-time workers

Last year, Gov. Phil Murphy and AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler joined workers from United Food and Commercial Workers Local 360's Cannabis Division and Starbucks employees, who elected to be represented by Workers United, for a roundtable discussion.

Several workers spoke at the roundtable about why they recently voted to join a union and why unionization is critical for workers in emerging industries.

At the time, Murphy stated that he intends to continue cracking down on employers who obstruct workers' ability to organize or even prevent workers from receiving adequate wages and benefits.