2nd Astoria Starbucks Votes To Unionize As Wave Continues

ASTORIA, QUEENS — Workers at a second Starbucks store in Astoria have voted to join a union, making organizers two-for-two in their efforts to unionize the neighborhood's coffee shops.

Employees at the Starbucks on 31st Street and Ditmars Boulevard voted 7-4 to approve the union on Thursday, according to a spokesperson for Workers United — an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, which the employees will now join.

It comes more than two months after the Ditmars employees first filed petitions seeking to hold the vote, and less than a month after workers at the Astoria Boulevard Starbucks became the neighborhood's first unionized shop in an 11-0 vote.

Ditmars employees told Indypendent last month that they had been threatened and even assaulted by customers, with little action from management.

"We have been underpaid, short-staffed, and subject to inhumane conditions for long enough," Ditmars employee Austin Locke said in April.

"Today is a testament to the power of the working class," the Ditmars workers tweeted after Thursday morning's vote. "Organized and unified, workers run the world and we hope our victory inspires other workers to organize for their interests as a class."

At least 305 Starbucks locations nationwide have now seen their workers file for unions since the movement began in Buffalo, N.Y. last year, according to a tracker by Perfect Union.

Other recent victories include the Starbucks Reserve roastery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where workers voted 10-0 to unionize last week. There are now six unionized Starbucks stores around New York City.

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