These baristas are leading a nationwide campaign to unionize Starbucks. It came at a cost

They came from very different backgrounds and different parts of the country, each with different reasons for seeking a job at Starbucks. Few of these workers had given any thought to unions when they started their jobs at the coffee chain. But now they are at the center of one of the most successful union organizing campaigns to take place in the United States in decades.

Naomi Martinez, 25, of Phoenix, started working at Starbucks two years ago so she could afford to finish school. The company offers tuition support for an online program at Arizona State University.

Michelle Eisen, 39, of Buffalo, New York, is the production stage manager at the local Irish Classical Theatre Company. She joined Starbucks in 2010 because she needed the health insurance.

Tori Tambellini, 23, of Pittsburgh, started working at the coffee chain in 2019 because, as a junior in college in her first apartment, she wanted to earn some money to pay the rent — and also to get free coffee.

And Nabretta Hardin, 23, of Memphis, said she wanted to work at her local Starbucks because it seemed like the workers there were having a good time interacting with customers.

Martinez, Eisen, Tambellini and Hardin are among the hundreds of Starbucks baristas across the US who have helped organize their fellow workers and make union votes happen.

The first Starbucks-owned store ever to vote for a union took place less than a year ago, in December 2021, at the location where Eisen worked. Since then workers at 243 other stores spread over 38 states have voted to join Starbucks Workers United — that’s more than five stores a week.

Votes have been held at 25 other stores but the results have yet to be certified by the National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency that oversees the votes. And 18 additional locations are either in the process of conducting or awaiting votes. So far, the union has had an impressive 83% success rate among stores where votes have been completed.

It’s been a true grassroots effort, with baristas at each store collecting signatures from their coworkers, pitching them to support the union and responding to the anti-union arguments being made by management.

Martinez, Eisen, Tambellini and Hardin’s efforts have shaken up not only the coffee giant, but they have also inspired workers at other retailers and food services outlets around the country, fueling a surge in union-organizing votes so far this year, including Apple retail stores, Chipotle and Home Depot.

“Winning is contagious,” said Todd Vachon, professor of labor studies and employment relations at Rutgers University. “It’s been very visible. It’s geographically diverse. There are shops in very red states, in the North and South, East and West. The pace it’s happening is breakneck. It’s remarkable.”