By Alina Selyukh and Tom Dinki
Source: NPR
Starbucks workers in New York are deciding whether they want to join a union, a move that would be unprecedented at stores owned by the company in the United States.
More than 80 baristas and shift supervisors from three stores around Buffalo have been voting by mail on whether to join Workers United, affiliated with the Service Employees International Union. The election ends Wednesday, and the result is expected Thursday afternoon.
No corporate-run Starbucks location in the U.S. has unionized so far. The company has fought off organizing attempts in New York City and Philadelphia. Last year, workers at a store in Canada formed a union, negotiating their first contract with the coffee chain this summer.
