Starbucks workers seek NLRB election for union removal

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GLOBAL INDUSTRY NEWS

Heidi E. Schneider | Staff Attorney (2018-Present) | NRTWLD&EF, Inc

By Sky Industry News

Oct 9, 2024

Starbucks employees in Oklahoma City and Salt Lake City have requested the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hold elections aimed at removing Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) union officials from their workplaces. Amy Smith from Oklahoma and Indya Fiessinger from Utah, both represented by attorneys from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, are leading this effort.

The employees initially filed petitions last year for decertification elections. However, these were dismissed "subject to reinstatement" at the request of SBWU union officials due to an unresolved unfair labor practice case involving Starbucks Corporation. With that case now resolved, Smith and Fiessinger have asked NLRB Regional Directors in Region 14 and Region 27 to reinstate their petitions and schedule a secret ballot election.

Smith submitted her petition on October 4, 2023, while Fiessinger did so on July 25, 2023. Both petitions had sufficient signatures to meet the requirement for a decertification vote.

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Oklahoma and Utah's status as Right to Work states means union payments are voluntary. However, under federal law, SBWU officials can still impose a union contract on all employees at a store. A successful decertification vote would remove this power.

There has been a notable increase in worker decertification petitions across various sectors from 2020 to 2023. The National Right to Work Foundation has assisted Starbucks employees in multiple locations seeking similar votes against SBWU union representation.

Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation, commented: “These workers have waited over a year to finally have their decertification vote... It is past time for these votes to be allowed to take place.”