Starbucks workers in upstate New York are seeking to form the coffee chain's first union in the U.S., as the labor movement gains steam in the wake of COVID-19-related shocks to the economy.
"We've been called essential workers, yet a lot of my co-workers are barely able to afford rent and putting groceries in the fridge in same week," Casey Moore, 25, a Starbucks worker in the Buffalo area and member of the union organizing committee, told ABC News on Thursday."I think the pandemic definitely highlighted the need for change, because it's not sustainable."earning record fourth-quarter consolidated net revenues of $8.1 billion.
Kayla Blado, the press secretary for the National Labor Relations Board, confirmed to ABC News on Thursday that the union election ballots had been mailed out on Wednesday at 5 p.m. local time after the board did not respond to the Starbucks' motion for a stay of election by that time. The ballots are going to be impounded, Blado said, meaning they won't be counted until the board decides whether or not they're going to review Starbucks' request.
The workers are seeking to be represented by Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union. "Despite Starbucks' repeated attempt to stop partners from voting, the NLRB has once again upheld our legal right to vote to join a union here in Buffalo," the Starbucks Workers United said in a statement."Starbucks' PR teams say they want partners to vote, yet they continue to use every delay tactic in the book to try and stop an actual vote."