COLUMBUS, Ohio — Baristas at the East 14th Avenue and North High Street Starbucks location are the latest to join the Starbucks Workers United movement in Ohio.
The National Labor Relations Board counted the ballots on Dec. 19 in a union representation election. The workers petitioned for an election on Nov. 7, and in what the union is calling a "landslide victory," they won 13 to five.
The first Starbucks location voted to unionize in December 2021, and since then, 270 other locations have joined. The union represents almost 7,000 workers nationwide, according to a release from Starbucks Workers United.
The North High Street location is the third in the city and the ninth in the state to vote to unionize.
The workers sent a letter to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, saying:
“We come together to form a union in response to the recent changes to working conditions. We intend to rectify these and create a more stable, fair, and cooperative workplace. Starbucks has created many of the tribulations we have faced and has stood behind ineffective management at both the store and district level. Partners have tried traditional channels of communication, but have been refused and rebuffed. Now it is time for a new approach.”
The majority of the workers at the location are students at The Ohio State University who have seen "unprecedented staffing changes in 2022," prompting them to organize, according to the release.
“As a campus store, our needs are specific: Partners travel to their homes during academic breaks and deserve to be secure in their employment when they return. We work to pay rent and tuition, to keep food on the table, and to have healthcare. No one should be robbed of these basic rights in the name of corporate greed and favoritism.”
