Another Starbucks store in Buffalo, N.Y. has unionizedAnother Starbucks store in Buffalo, N.Y. has unionized

Joanna Fantozzi

Following a contested union election for three Starbucks locations in Buffalo, N.Y. the Genesee Street store in Buffalo, N.Y. has voted to become the second Starbucks store in the country, the National Labor Relations Board confirmed on Monday.

Although the NLRB would not provide details other than confirming the results of the vote pending FOIA documents redaction, the SBWorkers United union celebrated the labor victory on social media on Monday.

On Dec. 9, the National Labor Relations Board tallied the unionization votes from workers at three stores in the Buffalo, N.Y. area. The Elmwood store voted 19-8 in favor of unionizing, while workers voted 8-12 against unionizing at Camp Road, the second store eligible to vote. The third location, Genesee Street store, voted 15-9, with one vote shy of unionizing (NLRB stated a minimum of 16 ‘yes’ votes). At the time, there were seven votes in question, with the union claiming that these voters do not currently work at the store in question.

The NLRB reviewed these challenges and came to a decision following the Dec. 16 deadline. The final vote tally is 15-9 after the challenges were sustained.

“While most of the world saw us win on December 9th, today is a special day -- today we put an end to Starbucks’ delay attempts and formed our union at the Genesee Starbucks,” Lexi Rizzo, a shift supervisor at the location told SBWorkers United. “Finally, the partners feel we have a voice at our workplace -- this is an emotional day for all partners here who have fought so hard to make our voices heard in the work we do. Now we’re asking the same thing Elmwood is asking: we want a fair contract and most importantly we demand that Starbucks stop their union busting in Buffalo and across the nation immediately. No other partners should have to endure what we went through to have a voice on the job.”

According to the NLRB, Starbucks has 10 days to file a request for review, and if granted, the results could be under review. If the request is denied, the results of the election will be final.

NRN has contacted Starbucks for a comment on whether the company will be seeking a challenge to the election results.

Following the success stories in Buffalo, N.Y. several Starbucks stores across the country have filed for unionization. Most recently, locations in Seattle; Knoxville, Tenn.; Broomfield, Colo.; and Chicago filed for unionization in late December and early January.

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