Workers United News

Some local workers and labor union advocates see a growing opportunity amid a pandemic and a wave of resignations for increased power in workplaces across North Carolina, the country’s second-least labor organized state.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will host a White House meeting on Thursday with organizers from unions seeking to represent workers at Amazon.com, Starbucks and other employers.

The union representing Starbucks baristas is taking aim at the coffee giant’s interim chief executive, Howard Schultz, alleging his recent comments about an improved benefits plan amounted to illegal threats and had a “chilling effect” on impending union votes.

The NLRB reported that union election petitions were up 57% in the first half of the 2022 fiscal year, compared with the year before. Starbucks petitions account for nearly a quarter of all petitions filed since January.

A Starbucks location in St. Paul, Minnesota, has become the first among the retail giant's outlets to unionize in the state, organizing officials said, after employees voted in favor of its formation 14-to-1.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., called unionizing Starbucks workers “heroes and heroines,” criticized the massive wealth of CEO Howard Schultz and called for an economy that functions for everyday workers.