Workers Vote to Become First Unionized Starbucks in Alabama

Workers Vote to Become First Unionized Starbucks in Alabama
Starbucks employees and supporters react as votes are read during a union-election watch party in Buffalo, N.Y., on Dec. 9, 2021. Joshua Bessex/AP Photo
The Associated Press
Updated:

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Starbucks has until later this week to file any objections with the National Labor Relations Board after workers at a shop in Birmingham became the first of the company’s locations in Alabama to vote to organize.

Baristas and other employees at a downtown store voted 27–1 to organize in a tally announced Thursday, news outlets reported. Documents show they would be represented by Workers United if the vote stands.

Company officials didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on whether Starbucks would challenge the vote—the latest in a series of wins for labor at Starbucks stores across the nation.

The employees had the backing of Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, who publicly expressed his solidarity with the workers.

A Starbucks in Buffalo, New York, became the first in the United States to unionize late last year. Based in Seattle, the company has more than 34,000 stores worldwide.