Starbucks Workers Win in Arizona

Starbucks Workers United, or SWU, won an election 25-3 to unionize in a store in Mesa, Arizona on Feb. 28. This is the third store to unionize, and more than 100 others have declared intent to unionize as well. Starbucks had previously argued to the National Labor Relations Board that the whole district should decide whether it would unionize or not, but the board disagreed.

Starbucks used many many anti-union tactics, including forcing the employees to attend meetings where managers discouraged workers from unionizing. Starbucks also hired a bunch of new employees after the initial employees filed for unionizing, just so that they could vote against it.

Mesa baristas voted to unionize for similar reasons to people in other parts of the country, including understaffing, pressuring employees to come to work sick, a lack of employee voice, and Starbucks not allowing them to stop accepting mobile orders when the store is too busy to handle them. In addition, Starbucks fired an employee who had cancer, prompting an outcry from other employees.

In the coming weeks, SWU will try to have the same success in stores in Seattle and Boston.