LEESBURG, Va. — Teams at Starbucks locations in Leesburg and Falls Church have become the sixth and seventh in the state to unionize, according to Starbucks Workers United, a group of union advocates based in Buffalo, New York.
One location in Buffalo was the first store to unionize in the history of the 50-year-old coffee retailer in the U.S. According to More Perfect Union, as of April 25, a total of 30 stores have now unionized nationwide.
This week, the Leesburg location won its union in a 23-1 vote, and the Falls Church location won 30-2, Starbucks Workers United confirmed via Twitter.
Starbucks workers have been mobilizing across the country to make unions happen in several locations.
According to the Associated Press, Starbucks insisted in December that its more than 8,000 company-owned U.S. stores function best when the company works directly with its employees, which it calls “partners.” Still, the company already showed a willingness to bargain outside the U.S. at that time, with workers in Victoria, Canada, ratifying a collective bargaining agreement with Starbucks in July, nearly a year after voting to unionize.
A Starbucks spokesperson, when asked for comment in December, referred the Associated Press to a letter from company CEO Kevin Johnson from a week earlier about going forward together as “one Starbucks, grounded in the belief that partners are the heartbeat of this company.”