Starbucks Workers United started in Buffalo, New York in 2021 and has grown to become a powerhouse organizing movement driven by worker-to-worker organizing.
We quickly understood that partners across the U.S. and in different types of stores – cafes, drive-thrus, mall kiosks, Reserve Roasteries, and beyond – all faced the same persistent and long-standing challenges. Short staffing and unpredictable scheduling, low wages, harassment, and more. Meanwhile, Starbucks raked in billion-dollar profits while touting social responsibility and progressive values. Increasingly, that rhetoric has failed to match our experience as baristas.
In August 2021, partners from different Starbucks stores in Buffalo, NY banded together to advocate for a voice on the job and real, material changes for their workplace. They filed petitions to unionize and started Starbucks Workers United (SBWU)!
The Elmwood store in Buffalo was the first store to win their union. Immediately, workers across the country were inspired to begin their own union campaigns, realizing their workplace issues were happening everywhere. Soon, hundreds of Starbucks stores voted to come together in unions, making SBWU one of the fastest organizing efforts in modern history.
Nearly four years later, we’re organizing our stores at a rapid pace. Every day we get louder and stronger. Hundreds of baristas are joining our union each month. Baristas at nearly 700 stores have won their union—and we aren’t slowing down.
