Overland Park Starbucks workers vote to unionize — but the contest may not be over
Employees at an Overland Park Starbucks held an election Friday and voted in favor of forming a union.
But the contest may not be over.
While the final tally of unchallenged votes Friday was 6-1 in favor of a union, the election was not finished. Starbucks lawyers are challenging the other half of the 14 ballots cast.
Still, workers at the store counted it as a victory until shown otherwise, making the 10201 West 75th Street location the 14th nationwide to hold a union election. At least 100 of the company’s stores are at some stage of organizing.
“We have a win for now,” said Hannah Edwards, 30, who has worked at the Overland Park Starbucks for three years.
Edwards said the vote serves as an example for other employees in the service industry who may want to collectively bargain with their company for better wages and a safer work environment.
At the Overland Park Starbucks, employees will have to wait for the election to be certified by the National Labor Relations Board. And a time may be set to count the rest of the 14 ballots. But workers said that even if the challenged ballots are added, they are confident they will be in favor of the union.
Staff will return to work and reopen the store Monday, Edwards said. They have been on strike for the last five days over recent firings they believe to be related to retaliation for unionizing.
The election Friday was carried out over video call. The challenged ballots were not revealed or counted toward the final tally.
A representative from Starbucks headquarters was not immediately available to comment.
