Starbucks workers at Denton's 2300 S. Loop 288 store voted to unionize with a 16-4 vote on Monday evening to become the 20th Starbucks location in Texas to join Starbucks Workers United, according to a news release.
This comes after Loop 288 filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to unionize with Starbucks Workers United in February. The Loop 288 location was one of 21 Starbucks stores nationwide announcing petitions on what the union said was the largest single day of filing.
"I'm excited for the possibilities this opens up for taking care of our partners," Shelby Rexrode-Cox, who has worked at the Loop 288 location for over eight years, said in a news release.
Since December 2021, nearly 410 Starbucks stores in 43 states and the District of Columbia have successfully unionized.
The Loop 288 store joins the growing national movement of more than 10,000 union baristas organizing with the goal of improving their working conditions.
Starbucks spokesperson Rachel Wall said in an email that on Feb. 27, Starbucks and Workers United agreed to begin discussions on a foundational framework designed to help achieve ratified bargaining agreements, resolve certain litigation and address other issues.
Starbucks is eager to reach ratified agreements in 2024 for stores that have already voted for union representation.
“We respect the rights of our partners to organize and bargain collectively, and we are eager to reach ratified agreements in 2024 for represented stores,” Wall said via email. “We are committed to delivering on our promise to offer a bridge to a better future to all Starbucks partners.”
According to Wall, the next step following the vote is for the National Labor Relations Board to certify the outcome of the union representation election.
Once the National Labor Relations Board certifies the election's outcome, Workers United must identify a bargaining representative for the store and send Starbucks an initial bargaining demand.
Starbucks will communicate through the representative identified by Workers United to propose a date and location for the first in-person contract bargaining session. Both parties will then begin a discussion on specific contract terms.
The Rayzor Ranch Starbucks in Denton was the chain’s first North Texas store to unionize after a vote count in June 2022. The Starbucks store on University Drive near Hinkle Drive voted unanimously to unionize, making it the second to do so in Denton last November. The Starbucks at 3012 FM407 in Bartonville also voted to unionize in July.
