The organizers trying to start the Starbucks union in Buffalo announced on Twitter that the national labor relations board made the decision that will allow organizers to vote for a union store by store.
Union elections will be held for the Elmwood Avenue, Camp Road and Genesee Street locations by mail ballot starting Nov. 10 until Dec. 8.
A Starbucks spokesperson told 2 On Your Side in part that they remain focused on supporting their partners as well as maintaining open, transparent and direct conversations throughout the process. The company is evaluating their options.
A week after the three locations mentioned above announced they would like to unionize, two more expressed interest in unionizing as well. Those locations were at Walden and Anderson in Cheektowaga and at Transit Commons.
The Elmwood, Camp Road and Genesee Street Starbucks locations filed a petition early last month with the National Labor Relations Board to officially hold union elections.
If successful, those Buffalo locations would employ the first and only unionized workers out of the over 8,000 stores in the United States.
Just on Wednesday, Starbucks announced it would raise pay up to $23 an hour by next summer. The Associated Press reported that employees with two or more years of experience will get a 5% raise, while workers with five or more years of experience could see up to a 10% raise.
The company said that its decision to raise pay was not in response to stores in Buffalo trying to form a union.