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Workers in a Starbucks location in Mesa, Ariz., on Friday voted 25-to-3 in support of becoming a union—becoming the third location out of 9,000 in the U.S. to unionize.
The Arizona store followed the lead by the two Starbucks locations in Buffalo that unionized.
The New York Times reported that more than 100 Starbucks stores in 25 states have filed petitions to vote for unionization.
Michelle Hejduk, a shift supervisor at the Mesa store, issued a statement after the vote, calling it a “historic moment” for all service workers.
“This movement started in Buffalo, and we’ve now brought it across the country,” she said.
About 68 percent of Americans polled say they support unions, and there has not been a time in recent history where unions have been more powerful.
More workers are even willing to tell their companies to take the job and shove it. About 4.3 million Americans quit their jobs in December, which completed a year when about 47.4 million people left their jobs.
CNBC reported that in 2019, a year considered to be the tightest labor market on record, saw 42.1 million people quit their jobs. Workers at the Mesa store cheered and hugged when the results came in, according to The Associated Press.
“The way that we smoked them with how many we got—yeses—that really shows that this is really a movement for people and we just want what is kind of an inalienable right for people,” Liz Alanna, a shift supervisor at the store, told the AP. “It feels good what we were fighting for, everybody wanted.”
Reggie Borges, a representative from Starbucks, said the company respects the process “and will bargain in good faith.” He said, “We hope that the union does the same.”
The company filed a request with the National Labor Relations Board and postponed the vote because its position was that a single location should not be granted permission to hold a vote.
The employees called the Seattle-based company’s effort a “union-busting” tactic. The AP reported that the company fired seven employees in Memphis who were accused of opening a store after business hours and conducting interviews from the location.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., took to Twitter to congratulate the workers at the Mesa shop.
“The movement to unionize Starbucks is spreading like wildfire. when workers stand up and fight for their dignity, there is no stopping them,” he said.
TREND FORECAST: The Trends Journal has reported on the shift to unionization during the COVID-19 outbreak, when major companies saw record profits and stock prices, while the vast majority of their employees toiled in low-paying jobs with little hope of career advancement. (See “UNIONIZATION: TOP TREND FOR 2022, ON-TREND,” “ACTIVISION STUDIO GROUP WILL FORM A UNION, SOLIDIFYING TRENDS JOURNAL FORECAST” and “SPOTLIGHT: WORKERS ON DEMAND.”)
TREND FORECAST: Among the reasons there is a shortage of workers is that they no longer want to work for poverty level wages, and after being locked down and having the time to reflect on their lives, many assessed the worthlessness of their jobs in their personal development.
As Gerald Celente has long said, “When people lose everything and have nothing left to lose, they lose it.”
Therefore, as socioeconomic conditions continue to deteriorate, “NEW WORLD DISORDER,” one of our 2020 Top Trends, will escalate as billions take to the streets, demonstrating against the lack of basic living standards, crime, violence, and government corruption.