Employees at a 5th Dane County Starbucks location file to unionize

MADISON, Wis. (WMDX) – A fifth Dane County Starbucks location is planning on filing to unionize.

The employees of the Starbucks at 661 State Street in Madison filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board in Region 18.

The move is one of several efforts to unionize by employees at Starbucks locations across Wisconsin.

According to the Chicago and Midwest Regional Joint Board of Workers United, over 300 stores across the country have filed to unionize.

Among the issues raised by employees of the Madison-based Starbucks were staffing, safety, scheduling, and a refusal to collectively bargain with employees outside of a union. Similar complaints were raised by other Starbucks locations in Madison that have since voted to unionize.

Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz testified in front of a Congressional committee earlier this year and said that the company’s preference is to work directly with employees.

It is expected that the National Labor Relations Board will become involved in the unionization efforts. Last month, a judge for the Board ruled that Starbucks had violated federal labor laws in efforts to discourage or eliminate union organizing in New York.

The letter announcing the effort to unionize was sent to current Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan.