Starbucks Union In NJ? 26 Legislators Support Effort So Far

MERCER COUNTY, NJ — Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman and 25 other New Jersey legislators recently signed a letter to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz in support of unionization efforts.

On Monday, Watson Coleman (NJ-12) visited the Starbucks in Hopewell and spoke in solidarity with the workers who launched unionizing efforts back in January. Read More: Mercer County Starbucks Employees Announce Efforts To Unionize

“I call on Starbucks to commit to a fair process. Starbucks workers, like all workers, have a right to form a union without interference from their bosses,” Watson Coleman said on Twitter.

In the letter, the legislators called on Schultz to sign the Fair Elections Principles. The letter goes on to list the nine principles of fair elections, including not threatening workers with higher or lower wages or benefits “to gain support.”

The letter notes that workers have a fundamental right to organize a union, and if Starbucks posts anti-union material on its premises, pro-union material should be given equal space.

“All workers have the right to a union and to a collective voice in the conditions of their own employment,” the legislators said in the letter. “We believe that these organizing efforts will ultimately lead to a stronger and more sustainable future for Starbucks, the workers and our State. We believe that you can be a true partner in this mission by signing onto these principles.”

Signatories include:

• Watson Coleman
• Donald Norcross (NJ-1)
• Andy Kim (NJ-3)
• Frank Pallone Jr. (NJ- 6)
• Bill Pascrell (NJ-9)
• Donald Payne Jr. (NJ-10)
• Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11)
• Richard J Codey (D-Essex)
• Joseph Cryan (D-Union)
• Patrick Diegnan (D-Middlesex)
• Vin Gopal (D-Monmouth)
• Fred H Madden (D-Gloucester)
• Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex)
• Troy Singleton (D-Burlington)
• Brian P Stack (D-Hudson)
• Shirley Turner (D-Mercer)
• Andrew Zwicker (D-Middlesex)
• Speaker Craig J. Coughlin (D-Woodbridge)
• Daniel Benson (D-Mercer)
• Herb Conaway (D-Burlington)
• Joseph Egan (D-Middlesex)
• Robert J Karabinchak (D-Middlesex)
• Angela V. McKnight (D-Hudson)
• Ellen J Park (D-Bergen)
• Anthony S. Verrelli (D-Mercer)
• Thomas P Giblin (D-Essex)

“Starbucks employees, like all workers, have a right to organize without intimidation or retaliation. I stand in solidarity with Starbucks workers in their fight for better wages & working conditions,” Pallone said on Twitter.

“We are listening and learning from the partners in these stores as we always do across the country," a Starbucks spokesperson told Patch. "From the beginning, we’ve been clear in our belief that we are better together as partners, without a union between us, and that conviction has not changed.”

Three Starbucks locations in New Jersey — Hopewell, Hamilton and Summit — have filed for their union elections. On April 1, ballots went out for the Hopewell store. On April 7 and 8 ballots will go out for the Summit and Hamilton locations.

In December, a Starbucks in Buffalo became the first in the country to unionize. A second location in the Buffalo area won a vote in January. Since then, workers at several Starbucks across the country, including Chicago, Boston, Pittsburg and Seattle, have filed for union elections.

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