BUFFALO, N.Y. — The National Labor Relations Board has confirmed a vote to form a union at a Starbucks store on Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo.
That means the coffee retailer, for the first time, will have to bargain with organized labor at a company-owned U.S. store. The union has filed objections in two other elections.
"Our union is certified, and we're offering an olive branch to Starbucks," Michelle Eisen, a leader at the Elmwood Avenue location, said in a statement following Friday's certification. "We're asking them to put the past behind us, to sit down at the bargaining table, to show the world they're ready to bargain with their partners."
Organizers say Starbucks waged a campaign of intimidation to dissuade workers from voting to unionize at two suburban Buffalo stores. Starbucks denies the claims.
Employees at one of the stores, on Camp Road in Hamburg, voted against forming a union last week. Results from the Genesee Street location in Cheektowaga are not yet known because of pending ballot challenges.
The labor board will decide whether to hold a new election.
"On the day of the election, we asked Starbucks to sign a set of principles," according to Jaz Brisack, another leader at the Elmwood Avenue location.
"Those principles mean Starbucks would recognize our vote and sit down to negotiate a contract that both the partners and Starbucks can be proud of. We hope Starbucks takes this opportunity to sign the agreement, respect all of their partners' right to organize, and sit down with their partners at the bargaining table."