Starbucks workers vote to form its first union, and more change may be brewing elsewhere

Peppermint mocha… with an extra shot of organized labor. Starbucks workers at a store near Buffalo, New York, voted yesterday to form the first union at a company-owned Starbucks in the coffee chain’s 50-year history. Two other Buffalo-area Starbucks also had union votes yesterday; one voted against unionizing, and the other will have a recount.

• Buffalo baristas began petitioning for a union in August to demand better wages. Starbucks, whose stock is having its worst year since 2017, opposed the effort.
• The coffee colossus sent founder and former CEO Howard Schulz to Buffalo to persuade workers not to strike, and unsuccessfully asked labor officials to delay the vote.
• The final tally: 19 workers said yes and eight voted no. Union members said they planned to start negotiating a new contract with Starbucks immediately.

Hotter than PSLs… The US unionization rate peaked — at 35% — in the mid-1950s, but experienced a decades-long decline as unions fell out of favor. Now unions are picking up steam again: In this year’s tight labor market, workers started demanding higher wages and stronger benefits. As a result, the popularity of unions jumped to its highest level since 1965.

• About 40 union groups from companies like Deere, Mondelez, and Kellogg have gone on strike since August — twice as many as in the same period last year.
• Amazon warehouse workers voted against unionization in April, but will soon revote after federal labor officials said Amazon violated labor law.