Valpo Starbucks employees vote to unionize
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Employees at a Starbucks location in Valparaiso successfully voted to unionize late last week. With the vote, the baristas became the second group of Starbucks employees to join the Workers United union; Starbucks workers in Clarksville voted to unionize last July.
The National Labor Relations Board counted the ballots, which ended in a 16-5 vote in favor of unionization.
“There was a lot of fear when we set out to organize our Starbucks,” barista Jess Williams said in written remarks. “This is not a part of the country where many people feel empowered to take action in their workplace. However, over the course of our campaign, democracy wasn’t just a want, but a need. The collective voices created a wave that’s carried us to this point.”
In January, the Valpo workers petitioned the board for a representation election with the Chicago & Midwest Regional Joint Board of Workers United.
The employees cited difficulties in paying their bills while Starbucks saw record profits.
In November, the coffee chain reported record fiscal-year revenues of $32.3 billion. Earlier this month, Starbucks reported record first quarter revenues of $8.7 billion.
“If we want better conditions for ourselves and to provide better service to our customers, we have to be the ones to create those conditions,” the workers said in a statement in January. “Unionization is the only real avenue for change — for challenging the status quo and for holding ourselves accountable.”
The results of the union vote must still be certified by the National Labor Relations Board before the union can begin negotiating a contract with Starbucks.
Nearly 300 Starbucks locations nationwide have unionized since December 2021.