Starbucks Stores Unionize as Courts Rule on Labor Practices

Baristas at two more locations joined a nationwide unionization effort on September 16, with workers in Ponca City, Oklahoma, and Queens, New York, voting to join Starbucks Workers United. In Ponca City, the vote was 10-4, driven by concerns over understaffing and benefit eligibility. In Queens, employees at the Shops at Atlas Park voted 19-1 to unionize to secure higher pay and stronger workplace protections. These votes add to a movement of over 12,000 baristas across 45 states and Washington, D.C.

Simultaneously, Starbucks Corporation secured several legal victories regarding its response to union organizing. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to enforce most of a National Labor Relations Board ruling that the company illegally surveilled and threatened employees at a Wichita, Kansas, store. The court found that statements about reduced hours and hiring portal closures were not threats of reprisal. However, the court upheld a finding that the company illegally threatened to deny maternity leave benefits to a pregnant employee.

In a separate case, a federal appeals court in Manhattan reversed a ruling that had barred the company from enforcing its dress code regarding union-supporting pins and T-shirts at a Meatpacking District store. Despite these legal wins, the company continues to face hundreds of unresolved unfair labor practice cases and NLRB complaints across more than 700 unionized stores. Starbucks maintains that it provides industry-leading pay and benefits, though it notes that updates to bonuses and tipping must be bargained for at unionized locations.