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Boston baristas at 2 coffee shops win union elections amid wave of cafe organizing
Workers at a Starbucks location and multiple Blank Street Coffee locations successfully voted to unionize.
Boston’s cafe unionization movement saw major advances this week after a Charlestown Starbucks and multiple Blank Street Coffee locations won union elections.
The Starbucks workers at the Thompson Square location voted unanimously (9-0) to join Starbucks Workers United, making the Charlestown location the 20th to unionize in Massachusetts, according to a press release. The store also joins more than 600 Starbucks locations across the country that have unionized.
The news comes as the fight between Starbucks and Workers United, the labor union that represents Starbucks employees, has made national headlines recently. After years of growing their numbers and winning streaks, it had seemed as though the union and Starbucks were on track to reach a contract in 2024, reported The New York Times.
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But earlier this year, the union tweeted that the company had “backtracked on our path forward.” The dragging of their feet on negotiations, and the announcement of a new work dress code, have since spurred strikes and walk-outs from unionized workers.
Boston area workers at the rapidly-expanding, New York-based Blank Street Coffee also won their union election, with 97% of the votes in favor of unionization, according to a tweet from labor union organization New England Joint Board UNITE HERE.
Workers at Boston’s seven locations announced their filing to unionize in May, claiming they were overworked and understaffed in a previous interview with Boston.com.
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The private-equity-backed chain, known for its automated espresso machines, has grown rapidly since it started in Brooklyn, New York, in 2020, which its workers pointed to as part of the problem. Lauryn Lopez, a Blank Street Coffee barista, told Boston.com that employee retention was also low at the Boston shops.
The union wins this week are part of a years-long wave of increased unionization efforts at area coffee shops. In May, Nestle-owned Blue Bottle Coffee’s local union also made headlines over multiple walkouts — one over installing security cameras in stores and another over the termination of an employee — amid lengthy contract negotiations. Other unionized cafe workforces include Pavement Coffeehouse baristas.
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