A New York City organizer said that "we're out here using the visibility we have to help Starbucks customers and people that like the company know that the company is preventing the workers from fighting for better pay and working conditions."
RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum said the Union Square employees “set an example for Barnes & Noble workers across the country of the change that is possible in the industry.”
For decades, union-busting bosses and Republican politicians have had a powerful ally in their war on organized labor: the United States Supreme Court.
Banks across the country have been targeted by union organizers. The Communication Workers of America union has been working for a decade to establish a foothold among workers such as tellers and personal bankers.
As Starbucks Workers United expands from shop to shop, workers face an onslaught of union-busting tactics. But union fever is spreading rapidly as workers at over 400 locations have filed petitions for union elections, with more planning to do so.
Last year, the union membership rate fell by 0.2 percentage points to 10.1% — the lowest on record. The absolute number of American workers in unions did grow in 2022 — by approximately 200,000. But the number of non-union jobs grew faster.
If the effort to organize the Buffalo facility succeeds, it would become Tesla’s first unionized workplace. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has expressed opposition to unions in the past.
Employers are using heavy-handed tactics to prevent workers from organizing, and U.S. labor union density is falling as a result.
Peet’s Workers United received assistance from Starbucks Workers United organizers.
Ninety-one percent of the graduate and professional student workers who participated in Monday's election voted to form a union.
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