Arizona Starbucks becomes 1st outside New York to unionize

By TERRY TANG
Associated Press

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — Employees at a Starbucks in suburban Phoenix voted Friday to form a union, becoming the first store outside New York to organize. Several workers from a Mesa Starbucks store cheered and hugged at a local union hall as the results show a 25-3 vote for organizing. A total of 43 were mailed out. A Starbucks representative says the company will respect the process. Pro-union leaders say workers deserve the right to collectively bargain on issues like benefits, seniority pay and pandemic safety protocols. The Starbucks in Mesa will now be the first to unionize outside of two stores in Buffalo, New York.