Seattle Starbucks Is 100th Store To Join Union

SEATTLE — The Starbucks Workers United Movement now has wins in the triple digits. On Friday, 12 employees at the Eastlake Starbucks voted unanimously in favor of unionization, making it exactly the 100th store to join the union.

Shortly before the Eastlake store made history, the 505 Union Station store also voted 6-3 in favor of unionization, bringing the total number of unionized Starbucks in Washington to six. Another 10 have already filed for unionization.

Organizers within the union movement celebrated their hundredth win online, they weren't alone: Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has been a vocal support of the union movement, issued a statement via Twitter Friday congratulating the union on its many wins.

"Congratulations to Starbucks Workers United for winning the 100th union election at Starbucks coffee shops all over America," Sanders said. "I say to Howard Schultz: Stop the union busting. Obey the law. Negotiate a fair contract with your workers now – no more delays."

The second half of Sanders' statement refers to dozens of allegations recently made by Starbucks' employees, accusing the coffee giant of extensive, and potentially illegal, union busting efforts. 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.

The Starbucks union effort began in Buffalo, New York, but has rapidly spread across the country. As of Friday, just 13 of the 113 stores that have voted on unionization lost their union election. A total of 274 stores have filed union petitions, spread across 37 states.