The union organizing Starbucks workers have been on a winning streak.
Employees at a store in Mesa, Arizona, voted to join Workers United by a count of 11 to 3 according to a vote tally conducted by the National Labor Relations Board. The union has five stores in the Buffalo area, two in Mesa and one in Seattle.
Eight of the coffee chain's corporate-owned stores are the first to unionize. The union has petitioned for elections at 150 Starbucks stores in 27 states, making it almost certain that more workers will join.
Bradley Logue, a barista at the Mesa store that unionized Friday, said in a statement through the union that he appreciated other stores leading the way. We are doing this for future generations as well, Logue said.
A group of nine workers voted unanimously to form a union in Seattle earlier this week, and the union's win in Arizona comes on the heels of that.
Starbucks tried to discourage workers from supporting the union in elections. Starbucks has denied the charges of retaliating against pro-union workers. The labor board found merit in the union's claims.
A company spokesman told HuffPost earlier this week that they still believe in direct relationship with their partners, but will respect the legal process.
The success of the Starbucks campaign will hopefully lead to a breakthrough in the broader food service industry, which is mostly non-union. According to recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 3.1% of workers in food preparation and service are union members. The density rate for the private sector is 6.1%.
The Seattle Starbucks campaign could be taken as a template and done anywhere, according to the worker.
Other places can and should do what we do.
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