The Starbucks on North 7th Street has officially unionized.
After filing to hold an election in April, the Williamsburg Starbucks became the city’s fifth unionized location on Tuesday, More Perfect Union reports. The group’s research shows that 300 Starbucks locations have filed to hold union elections, with 164 stores winning elections so far.
Assemblymember Emily Gallagher welcomed the news on Twitter, revealing that vote was a unanimous, 10-0 victory.
Huge news in the Fightin’ 50th: workers at the Starbucks Reserve in Williamsburg have voted *10-0* unionize with @SBWorkersUnited.
— Emily Gallagher (@EmilyAssembly) June 21, 2022#1u https://t.co/4ydiQNrmo6
A Buffalo location became the first Starbucks store to win a union election in December, setting off a chain reaction of successive union victories in locations across the country.
The megachain’s top brass seems none too pleased. Workers at a recently organized location in Ithaca claim that the company shut down their store as a retaliatory measure. In a recent forum with the New York Times, CEO Howard Schultz said that while he is not anti-union, “We don’t believe that a third party should lead our people. And so we are in a battle for the hearts and minds of our people.”