Starbucks bid to halt union vote count rejected

The National Labor Relations Board rejected Starbucks Corp.’s bid to quash the counting of unionization ballots from three of its upstate New York restaurants, paving the way for a Thursday vote count that could create the first labor foothold among the coffee chain’s thousands of corporate-run U.S. locations.

“We just want a voice in our workplace and despite the money Starbucks has spent on lawyers trying to stop that, the NLRB is telling us we have a right to this vote,” Jaz Brisack, a Starbucks employee and activist, said.

When asked about the ruling, a Starbucks representative referred to an open letter to employees issued earlier Tuesday by Starbucks Chief Executive Officer Kevin Johnson, who wrote regarding the elections that “we respect the process that is underway and, independent of any outcome in these elections, we will continue to stay true to our mission and values.”