Employees at second Columbia Starbucks location decide to unionize

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Workers at another Starbucks location in Columbia decided to unionize on Thursday.

Employees at the Starbucks location at 900 Vandiver Dr. voted 11-1 to join Starbucks Workers United, according to barista trainer Maddy Sayre. A secret ballot election was held at the store on Thursday.

Employees at the Starbucks near the intersection at Nifong Boulevard and Buttonwood Drive became Columbia’s first unionized store location in July.

A filing with the National Labor Relations Board indicates the union extends to all full-time and regular part-time baristas and shift supervisor who were employed by the Aug. 3 payroll period. Information on the NLRB's website show 20 employees are at the location.

The store was closed to customers as employees voted, according to a sign at the store.

“At Starbucks, our success starts and ends with our partners (employees). We respect our partners right to choose, through a fair and democratic process, to be represented by a union or not to be represented by a union, and will continue to work to make Starbucks the best job in retail," a company spokesperson wrote in a statement to ABC 17 News.  

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