CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Workers at another Starbucks location in Chicago have voted to unionize.
Workers at the 58th & Western store voted unanimously to join Starbucks Workers United – joining more than 410 stores and 10,000 workers who have unionized with Starbucks Workers United in three years, according to a news release from Workers United.
“Something we aim to accomplish with this is to actually see change within our store and get the chance to have a better Starbucks experience.
"This is one of our biggest successes as a team. It shows actual unity; it is what an actual team looks like: unity and growth. I hope this gives us the opportunity to improve so many things.”
The union said baristas all over the country are unionizing to bring attention to issues such as respect in the workplace, living wages, racial and gender equity, safe working conditions and fair scheduling.
The union said: "In more than 50 separate decisions, federal administrative law judges have found that Starbucks has committed more than 400 violations of federal labor law, including dozens of unlawful firings, refusing to bargain, and unlawfully providing non-union workers higher wages and better benefits than workers who voted to form a union."
Starbucks announced the resumption of contract talks that have been at a standstill for two and a half years.
"Starbucks and Workers United have a shared commitment to establishing a positive relationship in the interests of Starbucks partners," the company said in a statement from February.
"During mediation discussions last week for the ongoing brand and IP litigation, it became clear that there was a constructive path forward on the broader issue of the future of organizing and collective bargaining at Starbucks."
Starbucks has also agreed to provide workers represented by Workers United with benefits such as credit card tipping. Non-union workers have been receiving such benefits for almost two years.
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