On Jan. 23, in a 12-to-4 vote, baristas from a Starbucks in Kingston located at 39 Massa Dr. became the first to unionize in the Hudson Valley.
This victory follows a long series of unionization efforts across the nation, largely in partnership with Starbucks Workers United (SBWU), a worker-led organization that works to educate and unionize Starbucks stores.
Unionization efforts began months prior to the vote during the summer of 2024 according to Kian McComb, a barista who had been employed for over two years. Employees contacted an organizer from SBWU to form a committee which is part of the organization’s partner-to-partner coordination strategy. The committee was composed of Starbucks partners whose primary goals were to communicate and educate other partners within the store on the unionization process and their rights.
“Having a committee made it easier for people who work different day parts to kind of spread the knowledge around,” McComb said.
Initially, when the store’s corporate higher-ups were made aware of this during the fall of 2024, the committee was met with support, coordinating with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to set up a date for the vote. However, partners soon began to notice backlash to their unionization efforts, including many one-on-one meetings with managers and anti-union posters posted in commonly-trafficked areas of the store.
One of these posters, stamped with the corporate Starbucks logo, claimed that “unions can promise wage increases and better benefits during an election campaign, even though they have no actual power to guarantee those things,” asserting that Starbucks is “bound to facts only.” Members of the committee responded with informational flyers of their own that were subsequently taken down, according to McComb.
McComb described the union-busting to be “very mild,” but union-busting tactics aren’t new to the corporation. A case study published by the Economic Policy Institute on Jan. 28 highlights the company’s massive anti-union campaign efforts, delaying any storewide union contract from being established. Firing pro-union workers, cutting employee’s hours, removing health benefits, bribing employees to vote against unionization and stalling bargaining efforts — these are some of many of the practices the corporation has been charged with and accused of engaging in. The NLRB reports that as of February 2024, there have been “771 open or settled unfair labor practice charges filed with the agency against Starbucks or its law firm, Littler Mendelson.”
A union informational brochure was created in collaboration with SBWU, listing out common questions and answers to unionizing, collective bargaining, benefits and next steps. These were provided to baristas to educate them and clear up misconceptions surrounding unionization efforts.
The vote commenced on Jan. 23 at the Residence Inn Kingston from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., with the votes being tallied right after. Eryn Narici, a barista employed for over three years, described the overall mood as optimistic.
“We were all pretty excited,” they said. “We were all definitely a bit nervous before, but for the few people, there were basically four votes, who weren’t for it. [They] were a little less than thrilled.”
As for anti-union sentiment among employees within the store itself, Narici postulated that “it’s more about job security, fear of retaliation, that fear-mongering, all the firing they did a few years ago.” In February 2024, a NLRB administrative law judge ruled that Starbucks was in violation of labor laws for firing nine employees across Buffalo-area stores as the result of their pro-union activities, according to Forbes.
Though the vote passed, there is still a long way to go until a contract is negotiated between Starbucks and SBWU on behalf of the Kingston partners. A timeline is still unknown, but McComb, Narici and other committee members have expanded their efforts beyond their own location, canvassing at stores across the Hudson Valley.
On June 3, 2022, a Starbucks store in Nanuet, N.Y. voted to unionize in a 14-to-5 vote, becoming the first in Rockland County to unionize. The Kingston Starbucks location, being the first in the mid-Hudson Valley, highlights a significant gap between unionized stores in Albany and New York City. Though no unionization efforts for other stores have been established, McComb is optimistic that discussions have been set into motion as the result of their victory.
“I would say I feel happy and also just ready for more — continuing putting pressure on the company, through not only just organizing other stores but also in other little ways that we’re talking about for the future,” McComb said. The timeline between the initial vote, contract negotiations between Starbucks and SBWU and the contract vote has yet to be established, but morale is still high. “This is the first victory of many,” Narici said.
Workers United, a larger American labor union working closely with SBWU, is currently in the midst of bargaining sessions with the Starbucks corporation, though progress has been slow. As of Jan. 30, in a joint statement, the two parties have agreed to bring in a mediator to revive contract discussion with the goal of establishing a framework for the contract.
For Starbucks baristas looking to unionize, fear and uncertainty can be driving forces holding them back. McComb and Narici, however, stress that this is a critical moment in time that needs support.
“Be scared. Be nervous. We’ve seen how this company responds to organizing. People have lost their jobs … It’s messy and it’s scary, but I feel like doing something, especially in a time like now, is super important,” McComb said.
Narici added, “Be aware of what’s going on. We have to stand strong. Especially now … We really need to stand together now more than ever.”