The Fight To Unionize Starbucks by the Numbers

Unionized Starbucks workers across the country are ramping up pressure on the corporation to finalize an initial collective bargaining agreement—a contract that would create standards to improve their take home pay, benefits, hours, and working conditions. While the first Starbucks workers voted to unionize at a single store nearly four years ago—and thousands have voted to do so since—negotiations with the company have languished. Winning a first contract would not only improve the lives of these workers but also provide a model for workers across the largely nonunion sector to emulate. This fact sheet highlights Starbucks workers’ efforts toward their first collective bargaining agreement as well as what winning a contract would mean for these workers:

• 2021: Workers at a Buffalo, New York, Starbucks vote in December 2021 by a margin of more than 2 to 1 to become the first location to unionize.
• 655: Number of Starbucks stores where workers have voted to unionize, totaling more than 14,000 workers in 45 states plus the District of Columbia. Looking across the food services sector as a whole, only 1.6 percent of workers are organized into unions.
• 609: Days since Starbucks and Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) announced on February 27, 2024, a path forward to “achieve collective bargaining agreements for represented stores and partners, the resolution of litigation between the union and the company, including brand litigation, and a fair process for workers to organize.” Yet, on December 23, 2024, the union filed a complaint against Starbucks alleging that the corporation was engaging in bad faith bargaining.
• 1,000+: Unfair labor practice charges that SBWU has alleged, while attorneys at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)—the main federal agency enforcing private sector bargaining rights in the United States—have filed 197 consolidated complaints against Starbucks in connection with the organizing drives. NLRB Administrative Law Judge Michael Rosas described Starbucks as engaging in “egregious and widespread misconduct” in a 2023 decision that was largely upheld by the NLRB. Judge Rosas’ decision required Starbucks to reinstate illegally fired workers; compensate workers for harms associated with illegal conduct; and record a message from company executives explaining actions it would take to come into compliance. In September, Administrative Law Judge Melissa Olivero ordered Starbucks to rehire four illegally discharged baristas at a Madison, Wisconsin, store, concluding that Starbucks behavior “continues unabated” and that the corporation “has engaged in a scorched earth campaign and pattern of misconduct in response to union organizing.”
• 12.8 percent: On average, unionized workers earn 12.8 percent more than comparable nonunion workers and working class union members hold four-times more wealth than comparable nonunion workers. While winning a union election can lead to significant gains, to reap these benefits, workers and the company first must negotiate a collective bargaining agreement governing pay, benefits, hours, and working conditions.
• 37 percent: Portion of newly unionized workers that get to a first contract within 12 months of negotiations. However, workers’ odds of winning a first contract within a year shrinks by 68 percent among employers that commit unfair labor practices, according to academic research. Antiunion corporations may use delay tactics to undermine the newly formed union and erode employee support for bargaining. After one year of bargaining, employers may even challenge whether the union maintains majority support from workers.
• 6,666: Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol made 6,666 times more than his average worker in 2024, according to a report released last month by the AFL-CIO. SBWU also claims that the total expense of meeting workers unresolved demands would cost less than what the company earns in a typical day.

Conclusion

Starbucks workers are making history by winning union elections across the country in a sector that is virtually unorganized. However, the reward for unionization does not come until workers negotiate and vote to ratify a first contract. Achieving a contract would improve the lives of thousands of Starbucks workers and serve as a model for service workers across the country.