RTTNews | Dec 9, 2021 04:22PM EST

16:22 Thursday, December 9, 2021 (RTTNews.com) - Starbucks workers in Buffalo, New York were successful in building a union at least in one local caf, after a month-long struggle. Workers at the Elmwood Avenue caf voted 19 to eight in favor of forming a union under Workers United New York, a branch of the Service Employees International Union. The formation of the union is the first successful effort by workers to unionize Starbuck's U.S company-owned locations since the company became public three decades ago. A second caf at Camp Road voted against the formation of the union with eight workers voting in favor and 12 opposing. One ballot was declared void, while two more were challenged by Starbucks or the Union. The Union also claimed that many submitted ballots were found to be missing. The National Labor Relations Board is still counting votes for one other Buffalo cafe. Unions are not very common in the restaurant industry with only 1.2 percent of workers at food and drinking shops becoming union members in 2020, according to figures from the Bureau of Labor statistics. Things, however, are changing with unions being formed at Amazon and strikes by John Deere's and Kelloggs' employees. After Thursday's vote counting, the ballots must be certified by the NLRB's regional director, which could take up to a week. If any of the stores' elections don't have definitive results, the regional director will have to examine any objections or challenges, which may need a hearing to resolve. Stores that voted against a union can petition for another election in a year.

The next hurdle is negotiating a contract with Starbucks. Labor laws don't mandate that the employer and union reach a collective bargaining agreement. On top of that, workers who lose faith in the union can petition to decertify after a year.

The NLRB had twice supported Starbucks Workers United, first allowing the stores to vote as single units instead of opening up the vote to all 20 stores in the region as Starbucks had wanted, a move that usually supports the employer. As a result, 81 workers were eligible to vote instead of 450 across the city.

Then, the NLRB this week allowed the vote count to move ahead for Thursday afternoon. Ballots were mailed in with a deadline of Wednesday evening and the count was streamed via Zoom.

The union effort at Starbucks was meet with strong opposition from the management. The company sent top executives and former CEO Howard Schultz to the Buffalo locations, a move that Starbucks Workers United called "union busting." In November, workers had filed a federal labor charge, accusing the company of illegal activity like issuing threats, intimidation and surveillance in response to the union push. The company has, however, denied the allegations.

Read the original article on RTTNews ( https://www.rttnews.com/3248247/starbucks-workers-at-buffalo-n-y-form-coffee-chain-s-first-union.aspx)

For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com

Copyright(c) 2021 RTTNews.com All Rights Reserved