The Starbucks store in Allston, which was the first Starbucks location in Massachusetts to be unionized. Photo: James Rojas/WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The workers at two Starbucks stores in the Boston area have unionized. The coffee chain's Allston and Coolidge Corner stores are the first two locations to unionize in Massachusetts.
Starbucks Workers United said the employees had voted unanimously to unionize in both the Brookline and Allston elections. The formal push to join the union began in December, but organizer Kylah Clay told WBZ NewsRadio's James Rojas that the drive to join the union first began with underground conversations in the fall, following the first successful union vote of a Starbucks in Buffalo.
Read More: Two Boston-Area Starbucks Stores Look To Unionize After Vote In Buffalo
The union organizing committee said that they "want to make sure that our voices are heard and that we have equal power to affect positive change for our store, district, and company," in a letter to then-Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson in December.
Starbucks corporate has been opposed to the unionization push, though interim CEO Howard Schultz has recently said that he is "not an anti-union person" but rather "pro-Starbucks."
The next step for the baristas is contract negotiations with management.
WBZ's James Rojas (@JamesRojasNews) reports:
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