Baristas at Starbucks in Anderson Township file petition for union election

Baristas at a Starbucks location in Anderson Township want to unionize.

Employees with the standalone Starbucks store at Beechmont Avenue and Five Mile Road on Tuesday filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board for a union election. They seek protections on issues like respect, living wages, racial and gender equity, and fair scheduling.

That's according to a news release from Starbucks Workers United, a labor union formed in 2021 that represents 10,500 workers at more than 460 Starbucks stores nationwide. The union says employees of the coffee giant face the same systemic problems like short staffing, low wages, unaffordable health care, harassment and unfair discipline.

The Anderson store joins eight other locations across the country holding union elections this week. The others are in Arizona, California, Washington, Georgia, Indiana and Vermont. Additionally, dozens of more stores voted to join the union in recent weeks.

It is unclear when the labor board will approve the filing for the Anderson store and when the election will be held, a Starbucks Workers United spokesperson said.

The only Starbucks location in the Cincinnati area currently unionized is the Downtown store at 401 Vine St. Employees voted to organize under Workers United in June 2022.