10th Starbucks store in Michigan votes to unionize as movement gains more momentum

Of the 12 Starbucks stores that voted to unionize in Michigan, only two voted against it

By Steve Neavling

Jun 17, 2022 at 3:25 pm

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Ten Starbucks stores in Michigan have voted to unionize.

A Starbucks store in Ypsilanti voted overwhelmingly to form a union Friday, becoming the 10th Starbucks store in Michigan to do so.

Baristas at the 3650 Carpenter store voted 15-2 in favor of unionizing, joining a growing labor movement sweeping across the country.

Since December, 160 Starbucks in 20 states have voted to unionize, according to A More Perfect Union, a nonprofit that tracks labor unions.

Baristas are asking for better wages, benefits, and working conditions.

Michigan joined the movement in May, when Starbucks workers at 2480 Burton St. in Grand Rapids voted in favor of forming a union, 15-3.

On June 7, four Starbucks stores in Ann Arbor voted to unionize. One Ann Arbor store voted against it.

Two days later, four more Starbucks stores in Clinton Township, Lansing, Flint, and East Lansing voted to form a union. A store in Grand Blanc voted not to unionize.

The labor movement has moved beyond Starbucks. In Detroit, employees at Great Lakes Coffee Roasting Co. went on strike in February as part of a move to unionize.

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About The Author

Steve Neavling

Steve Neavling is an award-winning investigative journalist who operated Motor City Muckraker, an online news site devoted to exposing abuses of power and holding public officials accountable. Neavling also hosted Muckraker Report on 910AM from September 2017 to July 2018. Before launching Motor City Muckraker,...