Workers at a La Grange Starbucks voted against joining a union Friday, organizers said. It’s the first Chicago-area loss for the Starbucks organizing effort, which last week celebrated the first unionized coffee shop in northwest suburban Cary.
accused Starbucks of illegally retaliating against union organizers. The company says union-busting claims are “categorically false,” but it has taken an aggressive stance against organizing efforts both internally and externally.
Wednesday, union organizers from Starbucks, Amazon, and other companies met with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh at the White House to discuss their efforts. In response, Starbucks sent a letter to the White House criticizing the meeting and asking for its own sit-down.
“We are deeply concerned that Workers United … was invited to the meeting while not inviting official Starbucks representatives, to discuss our view on the matter. We believe this lack of representation discounts the reality that the majority of our partners oppose being members of a union and the unionization tactics being deployed by Workers United,” wrote AJ Jones II, Starbucks senior vice president for global communications and public affairs.
Six Starbucks locations in Chicago have also filed for representation: two in Edgewater and one each in Bucktown, Hyde Park, Logan Square and downtown. Workers at four of those coffee shops are set to vote by mail beginning in May, with results expected in June. “Although we are greatly disappointed by the loss at LaGrange, losses come as no surprise given the anti-union attacks and abuses committed by Starbucks management daily,” Workers United International vice president Kathy Hanshew said in a statement.