Workers at a Richmond Starbucks have voted to unionize in an election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board.
Fourteen staff members at the Eastern Bypass Starbucks voted Monday night in favor of forming a union and four against, according to NLRB filings. They’ll be joining around 600 other branches in the national Starbucks Workers United union. Baristas and shift supervisors would be represented.
Travis Simpson is a shift supervisor at the location. He says they went ahead with the vote for higher wages, better benefits and more scheduling leniency.
“What we thought was going to be just a cost of living issue, which, you know, that's how I view labor, ended up being an everything issue. Realizing that people are having to choose between having enough food or being able to pay just their portion of the costs for their medical benefits, Simpson said.
He says it shows rural interest in a national trend of Starbucks workers organizing.
“There might be like, thousands of stores just in LA County, absolutely. But we're in rural Appalachia, and people are struggling so much that they're willing to learn not only what labor organizing looks like, but how to do it themselves,” Simpson said.
The next step is for an official contract to be created between the national union and Starbucks corporate. That will come after collective bargaining negotiations between the two groups.
