Downtown Indy Starbucks Joins Indiana’s Unionized Stores

Source: NurPhoto / Getty

INDIANAPOLIS –Workers at the Mass Ave Starbucks in downtown Indianapolis voted 13-3 on Wednesday night to join Starbucks Workers United, affiliated with the Workers United Labor Union.

Iris Mctarsney, who works at the store, says that it took employees a couple of years to hold the vote, but she believes it was worth the wait.

“It took the right team and people,” she says. “I’ve been here for two years, and this is our second time talking about unionizing; it’s just the first time we fully went through the process. We were scared what other people would, and we were told not to do it.”

Some people and companies think unions limit flexibility and raise costs. Mctarsney worries management might oppose the union and try to discourage its growth.

“I’m terrified because I know how many court battles there are and how many people have been fired,” she says. “If corporate has anything to say, they won’t tell me personally.”

The Mass Ave store is the seventh Starbucks location in Indiana to unionize.

Since 2021, more than 450 Starbucks stores across 44 states and DC have unionized, setting a record for any company in the 21st century.

“We are going to have someone representing us letting people at corporate know that they can’t do something without hurting g a lot of people,” she added.

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