Baristas at a Starbucks (SBUX) cafe in Arizona on Friday became the third store to vote in favor of union representation, the latest in a rising wave of organized labor pushes at multiple locations across U.S. cities.
The Mesa, Arizona cafe is one of dozens inspired by last year's vote in Buffalo. That location became the first of Starbucks' workers to vote for union representation, in the face of the coffee giant's open opposition. After the eligible vote count, 25 workers at the Mesa location voted in favor of the measure, compared to 3 who voted against.
Yet three votes were challenged and two were deemed ineligible, while another was unclear about the workers eligibility.
"I am super excited. This is like enormous for the entire country for all Starbucks workers across the whole. This takes it from, East Coast all the way to West Coast," Tyler Ralston, a barista at Mesa's Power and Baseline store.
"I'm so proud and I think that the numbers reflect how we all feel in the whole store. It's a landslide victory. This is a win for labor rights for workers rights," the barista added.
This vote was originally scheduled for last week, but the election was postponed after Starbucks filed a request for a review with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
The Seattle-based coffee giant argued that a single store should not be allowed to hold a vote, instead, a vote should include all the locations in that store’s assigned district. Still, the board on Wednesday denied the request, arguing that they did not see any issues.
Following the vote count, the ballots will need to be certified by the NLRB's regional director, which may take a week. But a challenge still remains: negotiating a contract with Starbucks.
Starbucks Workers United union (SWU), a group advocating for its workers seeking unionization, now represents baristas at three Starbucks stores, following a successful campaign at two chain locations in the Buffalo, NY area.
More than 100 locations across 26 states have filed a petition for union elections since the first three Buffalo-area moved for a union vote in late 2021.
To be sure, the number of stores considering unionization is a small fraction of Starbucks' nearly 9,000 U.S. locations, which employ nearly 230,000 workers, also known as partners. About 3,500 of the chain’s licensed U.S. stores are unionized – which include those at hotels, grocery stores, and travel plazas.
Starbucks corporate has insisted it will respect the legal process, but has launched a website targeting workers that are considering unionizing.
“We don’t believe having a union will meaningfully change or solve the problems you’ve identified in your stores,” the company said. “We know we aren’t perfect, but we believe our challenges are best addressed by working together.”
While the union efforts have spread across the states, it has not yet affected the bottom line, with the company reporting a strong holiday season characterized by record profits.
Labor contract negotiations between the coffee company and SWU in Buffalo have started, with both sides referring that discussions are still in the preliminary phase. Baristas at one local store are waiting on a decision from the NLRB on the company's request for review— which delayed the vote count on Wednesday.
Starbucks shares were up to $92.58 at the closing bell on Friday, with the stock down 22% this year.
Dani Romero is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @daniromerotv
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