Baristas at Flatwoods Starbucks seek unionization for second time after failed bid in 2023

Baristas at the Flatwoods, West Virginia Starbucks location seek to unionize for second time after failed bid in 2023. A Starbucks logo is seen outside of a Starbucks store in Dupont Circle on November 16, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images)

On Monday — for the second time in as many years — workers at the Flatwoods Factory Starbucks filed a petition to hold a union election with the hope of becoming the first unionized Starbucks in West Virginia.

Their bid follows a national trend of Starbucks employees seeking unionization.

According to a news release from Starbucks Workers United, 13 other stores from California to Vermont have also filed petitions to hold union elections in the last week alone. With the petition filed by the store in Sutton, an election should be scheduled for workers in coming weeks.

If successful, they will join nearly 500 stores and 11,000 baristas nationwide that are currently represented by the union.

Tori Tambellini, a representative for Starbucks Workers United, said workers at the store in Sutton, West Virginia are hoping to see a more positive result in this election than the one held last March. Then, the unionization bid failed 8-6 with three eligible employees abstaining from the vote.

“When they voted last year, because of a lot of illegal union busting and a very illegal anti-union campaign by the company, workers were intimidated into voting no,” Tambellini said.

Nationwide, Starbucks has come under fire for attempts to stop unionization at the popular coffee chain. To date , at least 81 Starbucks stores nationwide have failed to unionize.

Following the failed election for the Flatwoods store last year, Tambellini said the union filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board.

“Those charges were settled and now they’re trying for a second time,” Tambellini said.

According to the NLRB, objections were filed by the union and workers seeking union recognition following the March vote. Those documents were not available to be viewed by publication time Tuesday.

In a letter to Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan, workers at the Sutton store and the 13 others seeking union recognition said their want for a union spurred from a multitude of reasons.

“Consistently, schedules are not meeting partners’ financial needs or availability needs. When we don’t get enough hours, we have to work multiple jobs which causes further scheduling issues and puts significant stress on partners,” the letter read. “At the same time, we are seeing more and more promotional days, and we are not seeing the increased staffing to match it. Partners are doing the work of multiple people and not being compensated for it.”

The baristas — or “partners,” as Starbucks employees are often referred to as — say the current state of working at the company causes high turnover of staff, excessive burnout for those who remain, mental health struggles and financial strains.

At the Flatwoods store, which is a popular and busy roadside stop for those traveling between Charleston and Morgantown, employees are experiencing the same, according to the news release.

“My partners and I have experienced many difficult things including inconsistent staffing and scheduling, lack of support, and even retaliatory advances,” said Justin Copenhaver, a barista who has worked at the store for more than two years.

Copenhaver said “unwelcome behavior” from managers has increased employee turnover at the store. With a union, Copenhaver believes working conditions would improve for himself and his colleagues, including Brehana Smarr, who has worked at the store as a shift supervisor for three years.

“It has become apparent to me that our voices are not heard without any kind of outside representation.” Smarr said. “As the ones that see everyday what it takes to keep this store running smoothly it’s only right that we get to be a part in making that happen.”

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