Senior Vice President, Employment Policy Division, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Over the past year, numerous media outlets have gushed over a purported “surge” in unionization. Given these stories, one might assume that unions are spreading like wildfire. The U.S. Chamber has written about why that’s not the case, but recent data from the campaign to organize Starbucks only further illustrates that, if there had been a wave, it seems to have crested.

Initially, the union effort at Starbucks (meant to look organic under the banner of “Workers United” but actually led by the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU) got off to a fast start. In March of 2022, 69 organizing petitions were filed at individual Starbucks locations. By December, however, this had tapered off to just 11 and has fallen further since.

In total, 358 petitions have been filed as of January 2023, which may sound impressive. But this represents just 3% or so of Starbucks’ 9,000 company-owned stores. Moreover, among those locations that voted in favor of a union (258 total), not a single one has negotiated a contract. This is not for lack of interest by the company. In fact, last fall Starbucks sent a request to Workers United asking them to commence collective bargaining.

Contract negotiations have started at a few locations, but the process has been slowed by the union insisting on conducting talks via Zoom, seeking to include undisclosed individuals in the discussions, and posting negotiations on...

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