'We Respect Our Partners Right To Choose': Starbucks Responds To Oceanside Workers Unionizing

OCEANSIDE, NY — Following up on a story we reported on Friday, an Oceanside Starbucks is the latest to join a union for its workers.

The vote was 15-5, making it the 10th Starbucks location in Nassau County to decide on unionizing.

"We respect our partners right to choose, through a fair and democratic process, to be represented by a union or not to be represented by a union, and will continue to work to make Starbucks the best job in retail," a Starbucks spokesperson said in a statement on Monday.

Those forming a union are represented byStarbucks Workers United, which has said baristas on Long Island and across the country, seek protections on core issues like living wages, respect racial and gender equity, and fair scheduling and staffing.

"Hourly partners receive pay above industry average and best-in-class benefits, together worth an average of $30 per hour for those who work at least 20 hours per week," the Starbucks spokesperson said.

Eli McClean, a barista at the Oceanside location, said. “I voted for the union because I’ve seen first hand how the company will disregard concerns and issues raised by baristas, especially when it concerns customers, and I felt our best option was to join a union that's committed to fighting for our respect and treatment.”

Since April 2024, Starbucks and Workers United have held more than nine bargaining sessions over 20 days and three mediation sessions over five days with a federal mediator, a spokesperson for the Seattle-based coffee giant said.

"We’ve reached over thirty meaningful agreements on hundreds of topics Workers United delegates told us were important to them," the Starbucks spokesperson added. "We are ready to finalize a reasonable contract for represented partners, but we need the union to return to the bargaining table to finish the job."

According to Starbucks Workers United, more than 600 shops have voted to form a union.