(New York) The US Labor Law Agency (NLRB) on Monday confirmed the creation of a union at a second Starbucks in Buffalo, northern US, giving reason to the challenges raised by the organization representing workers.
Starbucks employees scored a historic victory in December when they voted to create a union at their establishments, the first of its kind in the United States.
The results were clear at one establishment, but ballot appeals were filed at Starbucks a second, and the union believes the chain has included in the list of employees allowed to vote for people who already work in other coffee shops.
The association confirmed in a letter to AFP on Monday that the final vote was in favor of the union, without going into further details.
According to a statement from the union, Starbucks Workers United, NLRB representatives determined that the disputed ballot papers were indeed inadmissible.
“After months of meetings criticizing unions, intimidation tactics, and intense pressure to vote ‘No’, we can finally say we have won our union,” said Caroline Lerzak, team leader at the Genesee Street facility, in the statement.
Union workers in both coffee shops are now asking Starbucks to come to the negotiating table to discuss a collective agreement.
The employees of a third institution in the Buffalo area voted by a majority against the creation of a union.
But the victory of two cafes, out of nearly 9,000 in the country, sparked enthusiasm.
Even before the results were announced, employees at three other Buffalo-area establishments as well as a coffee shop in Arizona requested to be able to organize votes to join SWU.
Other stores in Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, and Knoxville, Tennessee have since joined the movement.
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