Shadyside Starbucks baristas vote to unionize

Nine baristas at the Starbucks in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood unanimously voted to unionize, the workers union said Wednesday.

The store on Walnut Street in Shadyside becomes the 17th store to unionize in the Pittsburgh region. Over the past three years, a union wave has hit the coffee giant with over 10,500 workers at more than 450 stores nationwide unionizing with Starbucks Workers United.

Julia Oppelt, who has worked at Starbucks for eight months, celebrated the victory and said it was a metaphorical reprieve to the hot weather that has hit Pittsburgh.

“This win feels like a blue moon on a 70-degree day,” said Oppelt in a news release.

Unionization efforts started in Pittsburgh in 2022, when workers at the store in Bloomfield became the first store in Pennsylvania to unionize. Workers have participated in intermittent labor actions since, including one-day strikes to call attention to understaffing and request higher wages.

Workers at Starbucks in 44 states and Washington, D.C., have unionized over the years.

Starbucks management has opposed unionization efforts, but in February agreed to start discussions on collective bargaining, according to the American Prospect.

Union leaders met in May in Chicago to talk strategy for collective bargaining, according to Starbucks Workers United.