More Than 100 Starbucks Have Now Voted On Unionization

SEATTLE — The Starbucks Workers United Movement passed a major milestone earlier this week, logging its 100th union vote Tuesday.

According to an update from the National Labor Relations Board, the union had seen 102 counts as of 5:30 p.m. EST Tuesday. Of those 102 elections:

• 85 stores voted yes for a union.
• 10 voted no.
• 7 are still in limbo, their outcomes dependent on votes that were challenged either by the union or Starbucks.

Of the 85 Starbucks that voted to join the union, 64 have been certified by the NLRB and Starbucks must begin bargaining in good faith with the union. The 21 remaining stores have either had objections filed or are still in the process of certification.

Of the 10 stores that voted against unionization, four elections have been certified.

Over 100 votes with a nearly 85 percent success rate is no lean feat, but the union is only picking up steam with over 150 more votes to go. As of Tuesday, the NLRB said it had received 268 petitions for union elections at Starbucks, representing roughly 7,244 Starbucks employees. The median bargain unit holds just 26 employees.

On top of tallying the votes and certifying the results of elections, the National Labor Relations Board will also be investigating dozens of allegations of using illegal union-busting tactics. One of the most serious complaints, filed earlier this month NLRB's New Orleans regional office, accuses the company of improperly firing seven Memphis employees for participating in unionization.

The growing union movement has been recognized both locally — with the Seattle City Council passing a resolution to publicly support the unionization effort — and nationally, with President Joe Biden meeting with union organizers. It may even have an impact on Congress: In an apparent response to Starbucks' anti-union tactics, Washington Senator Patty Murray introduced legislation to prevent large corporations from writing off corporate union busting campaigns as regular business expenses.

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