St. Louis Starbucks workers win union election

Store is the sixth unionized location in St. Louis

Starbucks Workers United continues to expand its nationwide coalition of baristas organizing for better working conditions and fair representation. On May 9, workers at the Grand and Sidney store in St. Louis, won union representation in a vote of 11-2, marking the sixth store to unionize in the city.

The freshly unionized St. Louis Starbucks partners have joined the fight against the company’s hour cuts, inadequate staffing, disregard for partner safety, and refusal to bargain with the union in good faith. They’re standing up to the faux-progressivism the company continues to use in marketing despite consistently disregarding the concerns and well-being of their workers.

“We are thrilled with our store’s decision to join Starbucks Workers United. Our team is looking forward to standing together and advocating for each other and our fellow partners across the country,” said Lee Martin, a barista and organizer at the Grand and Sidney store.

“As Starbucks has continued to see record profits, it has continued to treat its partners as an expendable resource. Our store has stood up and declared that we are not expendable. Our time, talent, and resources are valuable, and we will stand together to get the respect we deserve.”

RUTHLESS UNION BUSTING
Former CEO Howard Schultz and Chair of the Board Mellody Hobson have launched a ruthless union-busting campaign that includes firing over 230 union leaders across the country and shuttering union stores. At least 12 union leaders in the Show-Me State have been fired in retaliation for their organizing activity, and more have been forced out of the company.

The Starbucks Workers United union drive that has taken the Labor Movement by storm. After a successful first year of the campaign that saw more new unions form in 12 months than in any U.S. company in the last 20 years – over 300 stores representing more than 7,500 workers – partners around the country continue to diligently organize new workers, despite Starbucks’ best effort to thwart unionization.

The NLRB has issued over 80 official complaints against the company, encompassing over 1,400 violations and making Starbucks one of the worst violators of federal Labor law in history.