Starbucks union vote is latest test of resurgent US worker power

On a cloudy December Wednesday in Buffalo — a small city in New York State situated on the Canadian border just 32km (20 miles) from Niagara Falls — six workers from three Starbucks stores in the area convened in a nondescript red brick building. They stood in front of a wall plastered with a constellation of handwritten posters underneath a black banner that contained two images of a raised fist clenching a drink shaker and that read “partners becoming partners” in bold, white type.

The three stores they represent are looking to become the first Starbucks stores to unionise of the over 8,000 corporate-owned locations in the United States. The outcome of their efforts will be determined when employee votes are counted on Thursday, December 9.

The workers announced their intention to unionise in late August, claiming they had not received adequate hazard pay during the coronavirus pandemic and had experienced a steady decline in their working conditions over the last decade.