Starbucks challenged results of Prosser union vote. Baristas voted again
Workers at the Starbucks in Prosser have voted a second time to unionize after results of the first election were set aside.
The new election was held Nov. 9, with 20 workers participating. The results were 12 yes votes to eight no votes.
The National Labor Relations Board ran a second election after Starbucks objected to the results of the first, citing outside influences.
The new election was held by mutual agreement of Starbucks and Workers United, which is affiliated with Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
In the first election, the Prosser workers voted 21-6, citing reduced hours, lost benefits and being forced to work while ill.
Starbucks challenged the results a short time later, NLRB records show.
Sarah Pappin, spokeswoman for the Seattle office of Workers United, said it agreed to a second election to avoid a lengthy and costly court fight. She said the union does not expect Starbucks to challenge this new vote by employees in Prosser to unionize.
“This is a really well organized store,” she said. “We’re extremely proud of the work they’ve put in.”
Starbucks responds
Starbucks said it accepts the results in Prosser in a written statement to the Tri-City Herald.
“While we continue to believe we can do more to elevate the partner experience at Starbucks by working shoulder-to-shoulder than across a negotiating table, we respect our partners’ decision at our Prosser store to elect union representation,” it said.
Barring a challenge by either side, the NLRB will certify the results and the union will identify a bargaining representative for the Prosser store. The bargaining process starts once the union sends an initial bargaining demand to the company.
Once an agreement is reached, union members will vote to either accept it or reject it. Bargaining contracts are specific to each store.
First in Tri-Cities
The Starbucks in Prosser is one of the most prominent in the Mid-Columbia because of its location next to Interstate 82. It is the first and only Starbucks in the Tri-Cities to agree to be represented by Workers United and one of just a handful in eastern Washington.
Its employees filed a petition with the NLRB to unionize in August and cast their first ballots a month later.
According to Workers United, workers at 456 stores in 46 states have filed to be represented as of Oct. 31, 2023. Election results show workers at 364 stores chose to join the union and 82 stores voted not to join.
Pappin confirmed rising interest in joining a union from workers in Starbucks’ stores in eastern Washington. But as of Nov. 10, no additional Tri-Cities location had filed with the the NLRB to hold an election.
About two dozen Starbucks locations in Washington have voted on the union question, with 23 voting yes and one voting no. Prosser is one of three Washington where the outcome is pending, according to NLRB records.
The other two are in Redmond, 11523 Avondale Road, and Seattle, 4115 Fourth Ave. S.
This story was originally published November 9, 2023 at 5:00 AM.