By Arnie Alpert, Active with the Activists
Arnie Alpert spent decades as a community organizer/educator in NH movements for social justice and peace. Officially retired since 2020, he keeps his hands (and feet) in the activist world while writing about past and present social movements.
SEABROOK—Workers at the Starbucks store at the Seabrook Crossing plaza voted Thursday to join Workers United, a union that is representing workers at more than 550 Starbucks stores, including three others in New Hampshire.
In an election administered by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), workers voted 6 to 5 to approve the union.
The latest local Starbucks union drive began in January, said Brandon Wilson, a member of the union’s organizing committee. Unions are “the only way workers’ rights are improved,” Wilson said in an interview during a “Sip-In” at the store on March 11.
“I love Starbucks. I love my job. I want Starbucks to be a better place,” said Stephanie Viekman, a shift supervisor at Seabrook Crossing. She moved to New Hampshire last summer from West Virginia, where she also worked at Starbucks. As soon as she found out about the union drive here, she joined up, she said.
The petition for a union election was filed by Workers United on February 26.
Workers were eligible to vote Thursday during two shifts, 10:30 a.m. to noon and 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. Shortly after 5, Rebecca Miller of the NLRB said there had been no challenged ballots, and that the only issue that came up during the election was the entry of an espresso machine mechanic, who was asked to return later.
Miller then sliced open the cardboard ballot box, examined the ballots, and put them in two piles. One by one, she turned them over so observers from the union and the company could see them while she announced “yes” six times and “no” five.
Workers at Starbucks stores in Rochester, Epping, and Stratham have also voted to join Workers United, which as yet has no contracts with the company.
According to Starbucks Workers United, which is part of Workers United, workers at 564 stores have voted pro-union, with 17 more NLRB elections scheduled. Negotiations have been proceeding for months, but the parties are mum with regard to the status of their talks.
The bargaining unit for the new union includes all full-time and regular part-time baristas and shift supervisors, but not store managers, assistant store managers, office clericals, guards, professionals, or supervisors, according to the NLRB.
The Starbucks Corporation has not responded to a request for comment on the Seabrook vote.
Sam Merrill, who has worked at the Seabrook Crossing store for seven months and served as an observer for the election, said the unionization effort is about “people coming out and making their voices heard.”
Viekman said her understanding of unions was aroused by seeing, “Matewan,” a 1987 film which tells the story of a West Virginia coal miner’s battle. Describing the labor movement as a spiritual community much like a church, Viekman said, “I get teary when I talk about the union,” which she said has filled a void that used to be occupied by her religious community.
On voting day, she said, “It feels surreal that you can work hard for something and see it happen.”
Outside the store after the votes were tallied, Julie Langevin, an organizer with Starbucks Workers United, chatted with Viekman, Merrill, and three workers from the Stratham Starbucks. She told Viekman and Merrill that their next step will be to elect a bargaining delegate to represent their store in discussions about the contract the union is negotiating with the company. She also made sure they understood that they now have “Weingarten Rights,” meaning a right to have a co-worker or union rep accompany them to any meeting with managers where they think disciplinary measures could be discussed.
While they were talking, the espresso machine mechanic returned. Asked if he wanted a Starbucks Workers United t-shirt, he grinned, “Sure,” he responded, entering the store, t-shirt and toolkit in hand.