South Jordan Starbucks files for union election, along with 17 stores across the U.S.

A Starbucks store in Salt Lake City is pictured on Tuesday, June 4, 2024. (McKenzie Romero/Utah News Dispatch)

Workers at a South Jordan Starbucks filed a petition for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board on Tuesday, joining 17 other locations across the country in efforts to start collective bargaining.

The employees at the 1121 South Jordan Parkway location may also join five other Utah Starbucks stores that are unionized if the majority of voters chose to form a union.

Bee Nanase Barbera, a barista, said the workers who are pushing to organize are not “anti-Starbucks,” they’re just “tired of being underpaid, overworked and ignored.”

“We exhausted all ‘official’ routes before choosing this. Speaking to partners at union stores and hearing their success stories have given us hope for a brighter future,” Barbera said in a news release. “We want to keep our jobs, but not at our expense and for the sake of corporate profits.”

The other locations who filed for a union election are in 14 states, including California, Florida, New York, Indiana, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Starbucks agreed to begin discussions with the union to achieve collective bargaining agreements, Sara Kelly, executive vice president and chief partner officer for Starbucks, said in a message in February.

“There is a lot of work ahead, but this is an important, positive step. It is a clear demonstration of our intent to build a constructive relationship with Workers United in the interests of our partners,” Kelly wrote. “I want to acknowledge and appreciate the union’s willingness to do the same.” 

Hundreds of Starbucks Workers United delegates met in late April and again last week for bargaining sessions, where, they said, there was “significant progress.”

“Over the course of the two days, we discussed a broad range of topics, including a shared commitment to mutual respect, the process to resolve grievances, and details relating to the union’s representation of partners as both sides worked on the foundational framework that will contribute to single-store contract negotiations and ratification,” Starbucks and the union said in a joint statement in April. 

More than 10,500 baristas representing more than 440 shops have joined the labor organization efforts in the country to ask for higher wagers, fair scheduling, improved benefits and a safe and dignified workplace, according to a news release. 

So far, according to the release, Starbucks Workers United members have included “just cause” standards and education benefits for unionized workers.

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