Another Starbucks in Chicago wins union vote, becoming the 23rd location in Illinois to unionize

Starbucks employees at a Gage Park location voted to unionize, making it the 23rd store in Illinois to organize, as a nationwide labor movement continues among the coffee chain’s workers.

Twelve employees at the location on 5807 S. Western Ave., which opened late last year, voted unanimously to join Starbucks Workers United, according to the union in a Thursday announcement. Starbucks Workers United represents about 10,000 Starbucks employees at 420 stores across the country.

“I hope this gives us the opportunity to improve so many things,” said Jovana Rico, a barista for nearly a year at the Gage Park Starbucks.

Union members are asking for better wages, fair scheduling, safe work conditions and more.

In February, the staff and those working at a Starbucks on Madison and Wells filed a petition seeking to unionize with the National Labor Relations Board. They were among 21 Starbucks stores in the U.S. that filed petitions on the same day.

A Workers United spokesperson said it expects the election win at the Gage Park Starbucks to be certified by the NLRB soon. The Wells and Madison store was a tie vote and will likely be run again in the not too distant future.

The latest union win from Chicago comes after Starbucks in late February announced an “important milestone” to start talks with Workers United on creating a “fair process for workers to organize.” The move broke an impasse between employees and a company whose founder, Howard Schultz, has staunchly opposed unions at Starbucks.

Union members “will continue to hold Starbucks accountable to its new promise to reach agreement,” Workers United said in a statement.

The union has previously demanded Starbucks end its “illegal union-busting campaign.” It said federal judges have found the company “committed more than 400 violations of federal labor law, including dozens of unlawful firings, refusal to bargain, and denying benefits and wage increases to union members that are offered at non-union stores.”

In Chicago, eight other Starbucks stores have voted to unionize, according to the pro-labor group More Perfect Union. But four have rejected the move, including the world’s largest branch, Chicago Reserve Roastery, 646 N. Michigan Ave. Workers there voted against unionizing in August, in a major setback for organizers.

Starbucks staff in Buffalo, New York were the first to organize in December 2021. Since then, employees in 43 states and Washington D.C. have unionized, according to Workers United.

Starbucks has about 9,000 company-owned locations in the U.S. Last month, the coffee chain announced plans to grow to 55,000 stores worldwide from about 38,000 currently. Three-fourths of the new openings are planned for outside the U.S., the company said in a statement.