Where is the collective agreement at Starbucks?

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — When Buffalo baristas voted to unionize in December 2021, it sparked a movement.

It was headline after headline, a constant discussion about a shift in the workforce that began on Elmwood Avenue in our backyard.

But what happened since then?

There have been lawsuits, strikes and boycotts over the past three years, but now it appears that progress is being made.

“We’ve had a major breakthrough in the last few months,” said Michelle Eisen, a Starbucks Workers United union member and barista. “The company has accepted that this is happening and it can’t be stopped and we’ve actually started bargaining in good faith.”

Taylor Epps

The two sides met in June and are moving toward a framework that each store can use for its contracts, with hopes of reaching an agreement by the end of 2024.

Workers are demanding higher wages and better benefits.

“Many of these workers live just below the poverty line,” Eisen said.

Baristas (or partners as they’re called within Starbucks Corporate) earn between $15 and $24 an hour, with the company recently raising wages by 3 percent, according to Starbucks.

What if this contract were concluded?

“I think this could really change the face of the workplace if it’s successful,” said Matthew Dimick, a law professor at the University at Buffalo.

Taylor Epps

He thinks we could see a ripple effect among workers seeking representation.

“Buffalo’s history as a union town gives us something to be proud of,” Dimick said.

He explained to 7 News reporter Taylor Epps that these contracts are rarely a quick and easy process, which can impact workers.

“For workers, all of this is happening without their direct involvement,” Dimick said. “Then workers can lose interest.”

Baristas’ efforts to eliminate the union

At this point, a barista could say he or she no longer wants to be represented by the union through a process called decertification.

“It’s like the recognition process in reverse, a worker will file a decertification petition with the (National Labor Relations Board) and then they will hold a vote to determine if the workers don’t want that particular union to represent them,” Dimick said.

It’s something that happened at three local stores: Delaware & Chippewa, Transit Road in Depew and Williamsville Place in Sheridan.

“By December, the majority of the partners who voted for the union had left and it was just us who didn’t want the union and were stuck in this now-certified store,” said Peter Cordwell, who filed to have the Williamsville Place store decertified.

Taylor Epps

The NLRB blocked many of these petitions in its store and several others.

“They’re kind of taking away our voice because they’re trying to say that Starbucks is doing this, that Starbucks is forcing you to do that through means like coercion, surveillance, things like that, but that’s not the case,” Cordwell said.

And what do union leaders think about all this?

“I think we need to focus on the positive, focus on the right of workers to choose whether they want to be a member of a union and the vast majority choose to be a member,” Eisen said.

7 News reached out to Starbucks and received the following statement.

Buffalo employees file lawsuit against NLRB, appeal decision