Starbucks coffee shop in Biddeford is Maine's first to unionize
Workers at the Starbucks in Biddeford last week became the first of the giant coffee-shop chain’s employees in the state to unionize.
Employees voted 9-3 to be represented by Starbucks Workers United, according to the National Labor Relations Board. A total of 24 employees were eligible to vote.
The election follows a slew of union elections since December at nearly 300 of the Seattle-based company’s 9,000 U.S. stores. Most of the ballots have resulted in victories for the union, it has said.
At the Biddeford store, Starbucks employees say they are organizing in an effort to win higher wages and better schedules. Those demands have become especially sore points during the pandemic.
“We have been overworked, underpaid, and burnt out to the core,” the employees wrote in a May letter to Starbucks President and CEO Howard Schultz. “We are tired. We’ve continued to make every moment mean something, even though our hours have been cut drastically, our income threatened, and our benefits taken away.”
Six employees signed the letter, saying they were also representing others with the store at 360 Alfred St. The union election was open to all full-time and part-time baristas, as well as shift supervisors. The election petition was filed May 12.
There are 30 Starbucks stores in Maine, but it remains to be seen if others follow Biddeford's lead.
The attempts continue elsewhere, however. Nationwide, 19 cases involving Starbucks were filed with the NLRB during last week alone.
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