Organizers for Workers United on the Starbucks Workers United campaign and at the New York New Jersey Joint Board have won voluntary recognition after staff in both locations expressed unanimous support for unionizing.
At the International Union’s Organizing Department, the newly unionized staff leads the Starbucks unionizing campaign and represents 30 organizers. In New York City, 10 staff members will form their union for the regional Joint Board. Both groups joined The NewsGuild of Greater Philadelphia, Local 38010, and are now preparing to bargain with Workers United for first contracts.
The organizing effort at Starbucks has exploded with 10,000 baristas unionizing at more than 500 stores since December 2021.
“We are thrilled to have secured voluntary recognition from Workers United and humbled to join The NewsGuild as field organizers, media specialists, and data professionals working on the Starbucks campaign – we know that every worker deserves a union, not least union staff who build the organizations of the labor movement day in and day out,” said Malachi Dray, a lead organizer at Workers United. “By affiliating with The NewsGuild-CWA, we’ve found a fighting home for our crew and we look forward to the bright path ahead.”
“It is an honor to count ourselves as just 10 of the many powerful NewsGuild members that constitute this bold union,” said Cliff Soloway, an organizer and representative at Workers United New York/New Jersey Joint Board. “We are proud to have won recognition through a unanimous march on our management, and even more proud to be part of a labor movement that is building a democratic and cooperative world.”
Organizers at Workers United built a worker-to-worker model to expand capacity and reach thousands of Starbucks workers across the U.S. This campaign is featured extensively in We Are the Union by Eric Blanc. The Guild is hosting Blanc and workers to talk about his book on February 25th at 6 pm ET. Register here.
