Las Vegas Starbucks signals intent to unionize, 1st in state

Baristas and service workers at a Las Vegas Starbucks filed a petition to unionize, joining a wave of unionization efforts at the national coffee chain.

Workers at the Starbucks on Rainbow and Oakey boulevards filed a petition Tuesday with the National Labor Relations Board to unionize with Starbucks Workers United, according to a news release. If successful, it will be the first company-owned location to unionize in the state.

In a letter to interim CEO Howard Schultz, the organizing committee said the effort came from workers feeling they were not respected partners of the company.

“We also feel that we have voiced our concerns time and time again, and still no changes have been made to create a safe work environment for our partners,” according to the letter. “Instead, we have been silenced in the process.”

One employee, who declined to share their name for fear of retaliation, said support has been strong from the estimated 20 workers at the store, and they feel confident the election will lean in the union’s favor.

“For us, this symbolizes coming together and we really hope that no retaliation comes from this,” the worker said. “We also hope that our bosses don’t see this as something we’re doing out of spite or against them. We truly want what’s best for each other.”

Unionization efforts for the Seattle-based coffee giant launched during the pandemic. There are more than 260 Starbucks stores that successfully unionized and 325 that have filed for union elections, according to Starbucks Workers United. There are about 10,000 company-owned stores in the U.S.

“At Starbucks, we respect our partners’ right to organize but believe that working directly, side-by-side, without a third-party, is the best way to continue to elevate the partner experience at Starbucks,” a Starbucks spokesperson said in a statement to the Review-Journal. “That said, where partners choose to be represented by a union, we respect that choice. We are committed to bargaining in good faith, and hope the union does the same. We will continue to make decisions grounded by our Mission and Values and aligned with labor and employment laws.”

Starbucks has voiced its opposition to the growing unionization movement among its locations, and it has been spending heavily to boost store efficiency and employee morale. At an investor meeting in September, the company announced plans to invest $450 million next year to make its North American stores more efficient and less complex. Employees have struggled with rising demand for customizable cold drinks — which now make up 76 percent of U.S. drink sales — in store kitchens designed for simpler hot drinks.

Starbucks also announced a $1 billion investment in employee wages and benefits last fall and added $200 million for pay, worker training and other benefits in May.

Some Starbucks workers at licensed stores in Las Vegas are already unionized through the Culinary Workers Union Local 226, including workers at Harry Reid International Airport and locations at hotel-casinos on the Strip and downtown Las Vegas.

The Las Vegas Starbucks’ union election fits into a nationwide trend, said Edwin Keller, partner at law firm Kamer Zucker Abbott. Nationally, there was a 58 percent surge in union campaigns in the first nine months of fiscal year 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, according to the National Labor Relations Board, and a win rate of 77 percent for unions in that same time period.

Keller suspects the factors behind the surge are similar to what employees at the Vegas Starbucks listed in their letter. The pandemic’s impact forced people to reconsider work-life balance on top of the increased focus on worker safety and the desire for one’s voice to be heard by upper management.

“You take all of that together and that’s why you’re seeing this surge,” Keller said. “Companies that were previously thought to be unorganized by unions are now the prime targets. Those have a perception — real or otherwise — that there are gross inequities between line workers and corporate executives and stockholders.”

McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on Twitter. The Associated Press contributed to this report.