KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – Employees at the Starbucks on Merchants Drive voted to unionize their location Tuesday, according to representatives with Workers United, the union representing Starbucks Workers United.
Employees at the location voted to unionize in an 8-7 vote, with just one vote swinging the decision. The location was officially certified on April 4. The store is the tenth to vote on unionization across the country, and the ninth to vote in favor of the move. Other locations, including five stores in Buffalo, NY, two stores in Mesa, AZ and one in Seattle, WA, have recently voted to unionize.
Union representatives said the decision to unionize is especially difficult for Starbucks employees because the company takes part in union-busting.
“Despite all of corporate’s aggressive union-busting tactics throughout this entire campaign, thankfully worker’s rights here in Knoxville have prevailed,” said Maggie Carter, a leader from the organizing committee in Knoxville. “We are carving our path to a successful partnership with this company that we truly adore, and it’s taken a lot of patience and perseverance to get to this moment.”
Starbucks representatives told the Associated Press that they believe their stores function better by dealing with employees directly, not through a third party. “The vote outcomes will not change our shared purpose or how we will show up for each other,” Starbucks Executive Vice President Rossann Williams said in a letter to employees.
Some Starbucks employees across the country have asked former CEO and now Interim CEO Howard Schultz to sign the Fair Elections Principles, a set of proposed rules that will ensure employees get to decide in fair elections whether or not they will unionize their locations.
Last month, the Associated Press reported that seven employees at a Memphis Starbucks that were leading an effort to unionize were fired. The company cited safety concerns at that time. Starbucks corporate claimed that the firing was because non-unionized employees entered the store after closing to do an interview with a local news station.
Another Knoxville store, located at Montvue Place, is set to begin voting on unionization next month.
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