Workers at a Greeley Starbucks seek to unionize

GREELEY – Workers at a Starbucks coffee shop in Greeley petitioned the National Labor Relations Board today for a union-representation election.

According to the Chicago and Midwest Regional Joint Board of Workers United, a majority of workers at the store at 2604 11th Ave. signed union authorization cards. The filing marks the first time that Starbucks workers in Greeley had asked the NLRB for a union vote.

In April, employees at a location on Rock Creek Circle in Superior became the first Starbucks workers in Colorado to unionize, voting 12-2 — with one ballot voided — in favor of joining Starbucks Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, according to the NLRB. As of today, workers at seven Starbucks locations in Colorado, mostly in the Denver area and Colorado Springs, have won their union elections. Workers in the Colorado stores told media outlets they hoped to gain higher pay, tighter security and other workplace changes.

Workers at the Seattle-based coffee chain have filed for elections at hundreds of locations throughout the nation since those at a store in Buffalo, New York, were the first to do so in December, and more than 200 have won union representation.

In a letter emailed today to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and signed by a majority of the Greeley store’s employees, workers wrote: “We believe that a true partnership — one that is equitable — stems from open communication and transparency. By supporting the unionization efforts of our store, Starbucks will allow us to become true partners to the company. Our voices deserve to be heard, and we deserve a say in what we require to be successful in our roles — as baristas, as shift supervisors, and as the front-line workers providing coffee, food, and human connections within our community.”

The company had not responded to a request for comment by today’s deadline, but in a letter to its workers posted online earlier this year, it said, “We are better side-by-side. We believe we can build a better experience working together than by sitting across a negotiating table.”

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