Workers United Upstate New York

Join us as labor journalist Hamilton Nolan discusses his new book "The Hammer: Power, Inequality, and the Struggle for the Soul of Labor." Unions are the strongest tool that exists to fix inequality, America's most important problem. Yet union power in America has been on the decline for 50 years. Why? And how can we seize our current moment of opportunity to turn around that decline?

Nolan will be in conversation with veteran union organizer Richard Bensinger, of Starbucks Workers United, to talk about how to rebuild the labor movement for the next generation

If you can, please support the husband of one of our members who works at C-P Flexible Packaging in Buffalo, NY. Howard was diagnosed with ALS and his family is hoping to buy a bed (not covered by insurance) to keep him comfortable.

HELP FOR HOWARD, organized by MacKenzie Calkins Hi, my name is MacKenzie and I am fundraising for Howard. Howard is my dad. He is a kindhearted per… MacKenzie Calkins needs your support for HELP FOR HOWARD

This past Sunday, one of our union members tragically passed away. Chris Felong worked for International Paper and was a member of Local 14B of the Rochester Regional Joint Board. Chris got into a horrific workplace accident last week during his overnight shift. He had been in the hospital since then and never recovered.

You can support Chris' family here:

Christopher Felong, organized by Alesha Hemmer Hi my name is Alesha, My dear friend Chris has passed away on Sunday March 26th! Several people have… Alesha Hemmer needs your support for Christopher Felong

And the votes are in! Three additional Starbucks stores in Buffalo voted to join our union yesterday. We welcome our newest members from Sheridan & Bailey, Transit & French, and Walden & Anderson. We have your backs and are so proud of you.

The Heart Walk in in June is coming up quickly, and we need your help! Use this link to support our American Heart Association fundraising page.

American Heart Association Heart Walk The Heart Walk is the American Heart Association's premiere event for raising funds to save lives from USA's #1 and #5 killers - heart disease and stroke.

"Who would do this during the COVID?" Laughlin said. "We've gone through COVID. We've gone through delta. We've gone through the omicron. This is worse."

Laughlin was told his health insurance reimbursement is ending March 1.

Laughlin worked for xerox for 35 years. The reimbursement was a benefit he agreed to when he retired eight years ago.

Gary Bonadonna, Workers United Rochester Regional Joint Board: "There's older folks in their 80s and 90s who were promised, they have a very good wrap-around plan with Medicare. That's being eliminated."

Xerox cutting retirement benefits Xerox is eliminating health benefits to thousands of retirees who worked in Rochester.

"In terms of reversing decades of union decline, winning at 1000 Starbucks stores would be meaningless — now representing just over 6 percent of private sector workers, U.S. unions cannot simply “organize” themselves out of this deep hole — but in terms of creating momentum and generating a sense of excitement, winning 100 elections would be the biggest thing to happen to the labor movement for decades."

Will the Starbucks union victories ignite organizing across the country? 2022 might just be the year we see the beginnings of a new American labor movement.

You asked and we delivered… launching the official SBWorkersUnited merch shop! All proceeds directly support SBWorkersUnited partners. Merch is proudly 100% made in the USA and decorated by union workers! Link in bio. https://store.sbworkersunited.org

Victory at Genesee St!!!

for immediate release
Genesee vote certified - second Starbucks unionized

BUFFALO, NY — Starbucks partners at Genesee St. have won another major victory as the NLRB has ruled that the attempt by Starbucks to pack the voting list with partners from another store has failed. The NLRB ruled that partners at the Genesee St. store across from the Buffalo International Airport have voted by a margin of 15-9 in favor of forming a union.

The ballots that were challenged at the vote count on December 9 were cast by partners who work at another store. The Regional office of the NLRB ruled that these ballots are ineligible.

“While most of the world saw us win on December 9th, today is a special day - today we put an end to Starbucks’ delay attempts and formed our union at the Genesee Starbucks,” said Lexi Rizzo, a shift supervisor at the location. “Finally, the partners feel we have a voice at our workplace - this is an emotional day for all partners here who have fought so hard to make our voices heard in the work we do. Now we’re asking the same thing Elmwood is asking - we want a fair contract and most importantly we demand that Starbucks stop their union busting in Buffalo and across the nation immediately. No other partners should have to endure what we went through to have a voice on the job.”

“Words cannot describe how we are feeling right now,” Caroline Lerczak, a shift supervisor at the Genesee St. store said. "After months of anti-union meetings, intimidation tactics, and intense pressure to vote 'no', we can finally say we won our union. I would love to see Starbucks show some accountability for their actions and come to the bargaining table to negotiate with us now.”

The Genesee St. partners now will join with the Elmwood location to become the first 2 Starbucks stores to bargain for a collective bargain agreement.

Michelle Eisen, an 11 year barista at the Elmwood store congratulated the partners at Genesee, “We are so excited to be joined in bargaining by another store and that stores in other cities like Boston, Mesa, Knoxville, Seattle and Chicago are also moving forward. Working together we’re going to make Starbucks a better place for partners to work and customers to visit. It’s time for Starbucks to end its anti-union campaign and negotiate with us.”

The Genesse count means there are now two unionized Starbucks locations in Buffalo. The results of the third store that voted in Buffalo, Camp Road, are being challenged by the union over the company’s conduct during the organizing campaign. 3 more stores in Buffalo are awaiting their election date from the NLRB.

The Starbucks Workers United are members of Workers United Upstate New York, an affiliate of SEIU.

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Media Contact: [email protected]

Workers United, the international union representing Starbucks Workers United, also represents more than 86,000 workers in the apparel, laundry, food service, hospitality, non-profits, warehouse distribution and manufacturing industries in the United States and Canada. The organization is headquartered in Philadelphia, PA.

Meet Ash & Kylah, two incredible leaders at the Allston Starbucks, one of the stores that just petitioned the NLRB for a union election in Boston.

Buffalo & Boston partners are standing together to demand a seat at the table and to hold accountable to be the company we know it can be.

Read more about Boston partners here: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bostonglobe.com/2021/12/14/business/meet-baristas-trying-unionize-two-boston-area-starbucks/%3foutputType=amp

https://apnews.com/article/starbucks-union-vote-buffalo-c7dc3c2ec8b838e9f4ed641f54fc9035
Starbucks workers at a store in Buffalo, New York, voted to unionize on Thursday, a first for the 50-year-old coffee retailer in the U.S. and the latest sign that the labor movement is stirring after decades of decline.

The National Labor Relations Board said Thursday that workers voted 19-8 in favor of a union at the Elmwood Avenue location, one of three stores in Buffalo where elections were being held. A second store rejected the union in a vote of 12-8, but the union said it might challenge that result because it wasn’t confident all of the eligible votes had been counted. The results of a third store could not be determined because both sides challenged seven separate votes.

Starbucks and Workers United, the union vying to represent the workers, have five business days to submit their objections to the election results, the labor board said. If objections are filed, there could be a series of hearings and appeals that delay certification of the votes. If no objections are filed, the results could be certified as early as Dec. 16.

If the labor board certifies the results and one or more of the stores unionizes, they would be the first Starbucks-owned stores in the U.S. to be represented by a union. The company has actively fought unionization at its stores for decades, saying its stores function best when it works directly with employees.

In a first, Starbucks workers agree to union in Buffalo, NY | AP News BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Starbucks workers at a store in Buffalo, New York, voted to unionize on Thursday, a first for the 50-year-old coffee retailer in the U.S. and the latest sign that the labor movement is stirring after decades of decline.

History being made.

Reuters Pictures - STARBUCKS-UNION/NLRB STARBUCKS-UNION/NLRB - RTXLG5W0 Members react during Starbucks union vote in Buffalo, New York Members react during Starbucks union vote in Buffalo, New York, U.S., December 9, 2021. REUTERS/Lindsay DeDario TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Workers at one Buffalo-area Starbucks store have voted to form a union, according to results announced by the National Labor Relations Board on Thursday.

The result represents a challenge to the labor model at the giant coffee retailer. None of Starbucks’s nearly 9,000 company-owned stores in the United States were unionized before the vote. Votes at two other Buffalo-area stores will be counted later on Thursday.

Starbucks workers at a Buffalo store form union in a contentious vote. The coffee chain’s executives sought to convince workers to reject the union in an election campaign that began in late August.

Starbucks workers in New York are deciding whether they want to join a union, a move that would be unprecedented at stores owned by the company in the United States.

More than 80 baristas and shift supervisors from three stores around Buffalo have been voting by mail on whether to join Workers United, affiliated with the Service Employees International Union. The election ends Wednesday, and the result is expected Thursday afternoon.

Starbucks workers decide whether to form first U.S. union Voting is ending at three stores around Buffalo, N.Y. Starbucks had flown in executives to the area and asked federal officials to delay the ballot count.

Starbucks Corp. was dealt a setback Tuesday after a federal labor authority ruled that the tallying of ballots can move ahead in a worker vote on unionizing three of the company’s cafes.

The ruling by the National Labor Relations Board came after Starbucks Chief Executive Kevin Johnson warned that the formation of a union at the Buffalo, N.Y.-area cafes could disrupt the chain’s relationship with its workers. A direct line to workers has made Starbucks more responsive to employees’ needs, Mr. Johnson said, and the company already has pledged better wages and increased staffing as Buffalo baristas have raised concerns.

“It goes against having that direct relationship with our partners that has served us so well for decades and allowed us to build this great company,” Mr. Johnson said in an interview Monday, referring to Starbucks employees, in his first public comments on the labor-organizing efforts.

Starbucks Loses Appeal in Union Vote Process The National Labor Relations Board decided to allow a ballot tally in Buffalo, N.Y., to proceed on Thursday.

Former NLRB chairwoman discusses union efforts of Starbucks employees in Buffalo area

STARBUCKS UNIONIZATION EFFORT
On Tuesday, the NLRB shot down an effort by Starbucks to hold off Thursday’s vote while it appealed a prior decision that allowed three Buffalo-area stores to unionize individually.

Former NLRB chairwoman discusses union efforts of Starbucks employees in Buffalo area Former National Labor Relations Board member and chairwoman sits down with News 4 Investigates in exclusive interview on the local Starbucks unionizing effort and other labor topics.

"The fight to unionize at three Buffalo-area Starbucks stores will continue after the federal regulators Tuesday rejected a last-ditch effort from the company to stop the organizing effort.

The National Labor Relations Board, in a unanimous 3-0 ruling, rejected the company's bid to stop the counting of ballots among workers from the three stores, which is set for Thursday, a day after balloting is closed."

NLRB allows Starbucks unionization effort to continue The National Labor Relations Board, in a unanimous 3-0 ruling, rejected Starbucks' bid to stop the counting of ballots among workers from the three stores, which is set for Thursday,