Baltimore Starbucks Becomes First In MD To Unionize
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Workers at a Baltimore Starbucks have voted to unionize, becoming the first Maryland location of the chain to join the nationwide collective bargaining movement at the company's coffee shops.
A Twitter account for the growing effort, SBWorkersUnited, said the employees at the Starbucks location at 1209 N. Charles St., in the Mid-Town Belvedere neighborhood, unanimously voted to unionize.
Baltimore workers just unionized the FIRST Starbucks store in Maryland—and they did it UNANIMOUSLY!!!!
— SBWorkersUnited (@SBWorkersUnited) April 25, 2022
Tom Perez, a former Maryland and U.S. Labor Secretary who is running for governor, was on hand for the vote and congratulated workers on the 14-0 election.
The Starbucks on Charles St. in Baltimore just voted to become the first unionized location in the state.
— Tom Perez for Maryland Governor (@TomPerez) April 25, 2022
14-0.
Way to go! pic.twitter.com/FFO8Q82uS2
Workers at the N. Charles Street location filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board on Jan. 20. In a letter to Starbucks president and CEO Kevin Johnson five days prior, employees said they were making less than a living wage while dealing with "abuse from customers, malfunctioning equipment, unsafe working conditions, chronic understaffing, and a complete lack of agency within our workplace."
The staff, which is majority LGBTQ+, does not receive proper support beyond the company's trans-inclusive healthcare plan, they wrote.
"Despite its attractiveness to queer folk, Starbucks employs minimal methods on a store-level to provide adequate on-the-ground protection for its LGBTQ+ partners," they said.
We take pride in our work, and work should take pride in us. We're organizing a union to create a true culture of warmth & belonging at our store. Let's go Baltimore, MD! ????️????????️????????️???? @WorkersUnitedMA pic.twitter.com/5ycfPCivyh
— SBWorkersUnited (@SBWorkersUnited) January 16, 2022
According to a March decision from the NLRB establishing the parameters for an election, there are 22 full-time and regular part-time baristas, shift supervisors, and assistant store managers at the location.
Starbucks workers at a store in Buffalo, N.Y., became the first in the US to unionize last December, approving the motion by a 19-8 vote.
Prior to that, the company announced in October it was increasing wages for all employees, reaching an average pay of nearly $17 per hour by Summer 2022.
But as CBS Sunday Morning recently reported, more than 200 stores have followed Buffalo's lead and petitioned to vote.