BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — When Buffalo Baristas voted to unionize in December of 2021, it started a movement.
It was headline after headline, a constant discussion about a change in the workforce that started on Elmwood Avenue in our backyard.
But what's happened since then?
There have been lawsuits, strikes and boycotts over the past three years, but now it seems there's some progress moving forward.
"We just recently had a major breakthrough the last few months," said Michelle Eisen, Organizing Member of Starbucks Workers United and Barista. "The company has come to terms with the fact that this is happening and that it can't be stopped and we've actually started engaging in good faith bargaining."
Both sides met in June and are moving forward with a framework that each store can use for their contracts, with hopes of reaching a deal by the end of 2024.
Workers are seeking an increase in wages and better benefits.
"A lot of these workers are sitting just below the poverty line," said Eisen.
Baristas (or Partners as they're called within Starbucks Corporate) make between $15-24 per hour, with the company recently raising wages by 3%, per Starbucks.
What if this contract does happen?
"It could really change the face of the workplace I think if it succeeds," said Matthew Dimick, Professor of Law at the University at Buffalo.
He thinks we could see a ripple effect of workers seeking representation.
"With the history of Buffalo being a union town, it's still something we can sort of take pride in," said Dimick.
He explained to 7 News Reporter Taylor Epps that these contracts are rarely a quick and easy process, which can have an impact on workers.
"For workers this all kind of happens without their direct input or involvement," said Dimick. "Workers [can] lose interest at that point."
Baristas efforts to remove the union
At that point, a barista could say they don't want to be represented by the union anymore through a process called decertification.
"It's just like the recognition process in reverse, a worker will file a decertification petition with the [National Labor Relations Board] and then they hold a vote to determine whether the workers do not want this particular union to represent them," said Dimick.
It's something that's happened at three local stores: Delaware & Chippewa, Transit Road in Depew and Williamsville Place on Sheridan.
"When December came around, the majority of the partners who voted for the union were gone and it was just us who didn't want the union who were stuck at this store that was now certified," said Peter Cordwell, who filed for decertification at the Williamsville Place store.
The NLRB has blocked many of these petitions at his and several other stores.
"They're kind of taking our voice away, because they're trying to say Starbucks is doing this, Starbucks is making you do this through things like coercion, surveillance, things like that, but that's not the case," said Cordwell.
And what do union leaders think about this?
"I think focusing on the positive, focusing on it's a worker's right to choose whether they want to be in a union and the vast majority are choosing to be a part of it," said Eisen.
7 News reached out to Starbucks and received the following statement.
"We are committed to delivering on our promise to offer a bridge to a better future to all Starbucks partners.
We recognize that union representation is a personal choice upheld by the complex framework of U.S. labor law, and we respect the right of our partners to decide whether they want to join, refrain from joining, or remove a union."
Employees in Buffalo are taking legal action against the NLRB, appealing their decision.
