Employees at a Seattle-area Starbucks voted 18-1 to unionize on Thursday, according to Starbucks Workers United.
The Starbucks, located at Highway 99 and North 185th Street, became the first Shoreline store to vote for unionization and the 10th in the greater Seattle area, Starbucks Workers United said, adding there was 100% voter turnout from workers.
“We started organizing our store knowing that we weren't getting a fair deal from Starbucks, but the disparities in compensation just between baristas was shocking to discover,” said Carl Addison, a partner at the Highway 99 store, via statement from Starbucks Workers United. “We're hoping that, through bargaining, we can secure a contract that guarantees us the pay equity and decency that should be the baseline for all partners.”
We are listening and learning from the partners in these stores as we always do across the country," Starbucks said in a statement Friday. "From the beginning, we’ve been clear in our belief that we are better together as partners, without a union between us, and that conviction has not changed. We remain committed to our partners and will continue to work together, side-by-side, to make Starbucks a company that works for everyone.
Starbucks Workers United said in its statement the Shoreline store joined in its fight against the coffee giant's “hour cuts, inadequate staffing, disregard of partner safety, and refusal to bargain with the union in good faith. CEO Howard Schultz and Chair of the Board Mellody Hobson’s ruthless union-busting campaign – which includes firing union leaders and permanently closing union stores – has revealed the performative nature of the faux-progressivism the Company continues to tout as a marketing tool despite consistently disregarding partners’ concerns and well-beings.”
Dozens of Starbucks workers were on the picket line in Seattle on Dec. 18 to demand better working conditions during a three-day nationwide strike at more than 100 stores.
A Starbucks on Capitol Hill — at Denny and Broadway — closed in December, with the company citing safety issues as the reason. But workers at the store claimed the company was retaliating against the store that was the first to unionize in Seattle.