Workers at the Elmwood Avenue Starbucks in Buffalo, N.Y., officially voted on Dec. 9, 2021, to unionize through Starbucks Workers United, affiliated with the Service Employees International Union. Upon certification by the National Labor Relations Board the following week, the Elmwood Avenue vote represented the first time in its 50+ year history that a Starbucks corporate store had been unionized.
Though representing a single location covering only approximately 35 employees, the fact that workers voted to unionize a Starbucks—one of the world’s largest multinational brands—could have major implications for the trajectory of union participation across the country.
Baristas are an unlikely group to lead the unionization charge. Historically, U.S. restaurant workers are among the least unionized labor markets in the country, with only 1.2% of U.S. restaurant workers who are union members. Indeed, union membership across the U.S. generally has been steadily decreasing for decades.
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