Starbucks workers in North Park vote to unionize

Workers at a Starbucks in Chicago’s North Park community Thursday became the coffee chain’s sixth store in the area to vote for unionizing.

Baristas and shift supervisors at the store at 6075 N. Lincoln Ave. narrowly voted to affiliate with Workers United, part of the Service Employees International Union. The vote was 4-3 in favor of the union, according to a count supervised by the National Labor Relations Board.

Worker participation in the election was low, however. The NLRB said 20 employees were eligible to vote. A majority of workers who vote determines the outcome of elections for union certification.

The result gives Workers United six victories against three losses for its Starbucks organizing drive in the Chicago area. In its national campaign targeting Starbucks, the union has won votes at 209 stores and lost at 45, according to a count the NLRB published Wednesday. Each store would be its own bargaining unit.