NPR: Starbucks Union Organizing Gave Labor A Jolt Of Energy In 2022

In labor, this has been the year of the coffee shop.

On Dec. 9, 2021, a group of baristas in Buffalo, New York voted to become the first unionized Starbucks in the U.S.

Hundreds of stores followed, spurring a nationwide campaign that saw a surge in union activity across other restaurant chains and non-food industries.

Workers at more than 330 Starbucks locations have held votes with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal agency responsible for enforcing U.S. labor laws, since last December.

To date, 268 stores have voted in favor of forming a union, according to NLRB data provided to NPR. Starbucks employees are organizing with Workers United, an affiliate of the much larger Service Employees International Union.

But unionized stores still represent only about 3% of all company-operated locations across the country