Starbucks employees in Bloomington Eastside unanimously decide to join Starbucks Workers United

Bloomington, Indiana – Tuesday saw a unanimous decision among Bloomington Eastside Starbucks employees to formally join Starbucks Workers United, an alliance of more than 340 U.S. Starbucks partners nationwide. The store is Indiana’s third to unionize and is situated at Third Street and 46 Bypass.

Employees at the Bloomington Eastside Starbucks voted 14-0 in favor of union representation, according to a news release.

“Our unanimous decision only goes to show that the way this company is being run is unacceptable to its workers, depriving us of our dignity and our ability to make a living,” Bloomington Eastside Starbucks Barista Stefanie Sharp said in the press release. “We have come completely united and now demand that the company come and sit at the bargaining table in good faith.”

Employees at the Starbucks on Bloomington Eastside submitted a petition to the National Labor Relations Board in June asking to join Starbucks Workers United. The store’s employees complained about their working conditions, scheduling, and pay in a news release and an interview with the Indiana Daily Student.

Workers requested that their union be recognized as the collective bargaining agent for all permanent hourly full-time and part-time employees working at the store by submitting the petition. The National Labor Relations Board’s definition of store managers and assistant store managers is not included in the store’s union.

The establishment is Indiana’s third Starbucks to unionize. Workers at a Starbucks branch in Clarksville, Indiana unionized in June 2022, and those at the LaPorte and Silhavy Starbucks in Valparaiso, Indiana, unionized in February.