Workers at the Starbucks location on South Sherwood Forest Boulevard voted 10 to 4 to join Starbucks Workers United on Wednesday. The store is the first Baton Rouge location to join the union and the third in Louisiana.
Over 380 Starbucks stores throughout the U.S. have unionized through Starbucks Workers United with more than 9,000 workers advocating for better pay and better working conditions. Though no locations have enacted a collective bargaining agreement yet, the union recently influenced changes to the coffee chain’s mobile order policy after a nationwide strike that saw over 5,000 workers walk out at more than 150 stores.
Since the current unionization effort began in December 2021, Starbucks Workers United has conducted strikes at hundreds of locations across the country totaling over 450 days spent striking. In addition to advocating for better pay and better working conditions, the union is also accusing Starbucks of employing illegal union-busting tactics—an accusation that National Labor Relations Board judges have corroborated.
“This is a historic moment for all Starbucks workers in Baton Rouge,” Rebekah Northrop, a Starbucks barista at the Sherwood Forest store, said in a statement. “We worked hard for this. We are paving the way for everyone who can’t speak up and for those who come after us.”
In response to the location’s vote to unionize, Starbucks issued the following statement:
“We respect the rights of our partners to organize and bargain collectively, and we are eager to reach ratified agreements in 2024 for represented stores. Our commitment to all partners to offer a bridge to a better future remains unchanged.”
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated since its original publication to include a statement from Starbucks.
