Brooklyn, Long Island Starbucks join nationwide union push with new filings

NEW YORK (PIX11) – Starbucks locations in Brooklyn and Long Island officially kicked off their unionizing efforts Tuesday, joining an ongoing national labor movement at the coffee chain. 

Stores in Park Slope, Brooklyn and Old Westbury and Garden City, Long Island, were among 21 stores to file petitions with the National Labor Relations Board on Tuesday, moving one step closer to a union election, according to a representative of Starbucks Workers United.

“We 'partners' demand a say. We are the face of Starbucks. As employees, we deserve the same respect and dignity as the CEO,” the stores from New York, Colorado, California, Illinois and other states wrote in a letter to Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan. 

“This dignity includes fair pay, clear communication with all partners, a say in the decisions that affect our day to day, better power balance, and manageable expectations,” the stores wrote.

In a statement to PIX11 News, Starbucks said it has worked to improve workers’ hours, pay and reinvested over 20 percent of its 2023 profits back into wages, training and equipment.

While we believe our direct relationship as partners is core to our culture and our continued improvements to the partner experience, we respect the rights of partners to organize and reaffirm our aim to negotiate first contracts for represented stores this year. We encourage all partners at stores petitioning for representation to get the facts, make an informed choice and ensure their voice is heard by voting in neutral, secret-ballot elections conducted by the National Labor Relations Board. Our aim will be to ensure the process is fair and our partners’ voices are heard.

Starbucks

The New York workers say Starbucks consistently prioritizes profits over its workers. 

“Our daily lives are subject to the whims of monolithic institutions that prioritize profits over human lives and make decisions without the consent of those they govern,” said Victoria Blair, who has worked at the 4th Avenue Park Slope location for two years. “We are unionizing because we want that to change.”

Nearly 400 Starbucks locations across the country have elected to form unions representing over 9,500 union baristas, according to a representative of Starbucks Workers United. 

Tuesday’s filing is far from New York’s first stint with Starbucks unions. In November of last year, local workers joined a nationwide strike during the chain’s popular red cup promotion for the holidays.