Unionised New York Starbucks store to rattle coffee sector

Staff at one Starbucks coffee shop in the state of New York have voted to establish a labour union

Staff at a Starbucks store in the state of New York have voted in favour of a labour union, making it the first one of the chain’s own stores to be unionised since the 1980s. Out of a staff of 27, 19 voted in favour at Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo.

Despite the small numbers involved, the vote is likely to rattle the giant coffee chain brand.

Starbucks had pulled out all the stops to persuade staff to vote against unionising, including flying in top executives.

Campaigners for the union gathered in Buffalo to watch the vote be counted via Zoom and cheered as the result was announced.

However staff at a second Buffalo store voted against establishing a union

The vote at a third is not yet resolved as some of the ballots are under review.

In all, about 100 baristas and supervisors took part.

Starbucks workers in Buffalo began the campaign to unionise in August, saying they were overworked, but not listened to by the company.

The mobile app in particular has added to their workload, they said, by enabling multiple complicated orders to arrive in quick succession, which they are then under time pressure to fulfil.