Workers at two more NC Starbucks vote to unionize, including another in Triangle
Baristas and shift supervisors at two North Carolina Starbucks voted to unionize this month, joining a nationwide labor campaign at the largest U.S. coffee chain.
On Dec. 18, Starbucks employees at a store off U.S. 64 in Apex overwhelmingly agreed to have the Workers United union negotiate their wages and benefits. In a separate election the same day, Starbucks workers in the town of Wilkesboro also approved the union.
“Personally, I am pretty overwhelmed by the understaffing issue we face,” said Ian Gordon, a barista at the Apex store. “Our hope is to get more people on the floor at a time.”
North Carolina now has five organized Starbucks locations, including another Triangle store in Durham’s Renaissance Center, across the road from The Streets at Southpoint mall. North Carolina is a right-to-work state, meaning no employee will have to pay union dues or even join the union if the union represents their store.
More than 500 Starbucks have unionized in the three years since a shop in Buffalo, New York, launched the movement. Overall, the chain has over 10,000 U.S. stores.
“At Starbucks we believe that our direct relationship as partners is core to the experiences we create in our stores, and we respect our partners rights to have a choice on the topic of unions,” Starbucks spokesperson Phil Gee said in an email.
On Christmas Eve, more than 5,000 Starbucks workers walked off their shifts over stalled contract negotiations and alleged unfair labor practices by their employer. Baristas in Durham, Apex and Wilkesboro participated in the strike action, which closed stores and disrupted service.
“Christmas Eve is one of the busiest days,” said Iyanna Lassiter, a shift supervisor at the Wilkesboro store. “We felt that that day would make the biggest impact. It makes the customers as upset as we are.”
In a Dec. 23 statement, Starbucks chief partner officer Sara Kelly called Workers United’s contract demand for an immediate 64% minimum wage increase “not sustainable.”
“The union chose to walk away from bargaining last week,” she added. “We are ready to continue negotiations when the union comes back to the bargaining table.”
In addition to five wins, unions have lost four Starbucks elections in North Carolina since 2022. The state has the second-lowest unionization rate in the country, ahead of only South Carolina.
This story was originally published December 28, 2024 at 2:21 PM.
