After widely publicized strike, Columbia Starbucks votes to unionize
After a months-long organizing process and a three-day strike in May, employees at Columbia’s Millwood Avenue Starbucks voted Thursday to unionize.
“It’s really great to be one of the first in South Carolina,” said Sophie Ryan, one of the organizers of the Millwood Avenue store. She said she hopes their success will give confidence to other stores in the Palmetto State looking to unionize.
The vote was unanimous in favor of joining the national Starbucks Workers United union, 12-0. Three of those 12 votes are being challenged by Starbucks, including Ryan’s because she recently transferred to a new store after graduating from the University of South Carolina.
Ryan said despite those challenges, the vote will still hold.
Employees at the store began considering forming a local union chapter in February, when the national trend first began taking off for Starbucks organizers. Among their workplace concerns are a lack of non-cash tipping options, not having enough employees per shift and not being given seniority pay.
Employees at the store said Starbucks attempted to wage an aggressive anti-union campaign after their efforts began. Ryan was initially denied a request to transfer to a new store after graduating college, and a store manager was fired, allegedly for refusing to push back against the unionization efforts.
That’s when store employees decided to strike. After the store manager was fired, employees walked out of the store Wednesday, May 18. Employees were on strike for three days.
A spokesperson for Starbucks did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. The corporation previously told The State allegations of discrimination and unequal benefits at the Millwood store are “completely false.”
“We are enforcing our policies consistently and transparently,” the Starbucks spokesperson previously said.
Last month, a Starbucks in Greenville became the first of the coffee giant’s South Carolina stores to join Workers United in an 8-1 vote. A store in Anderson became the second location to join those ranks Tuesday after a unanimous vote.
The momentum in South Carolina follows a wave of unionization at Starbucks locations nationwide. In December, the company didn’t have a single unionized store. By May, more than 60 locations were formal members of the Workers United union.
This story was originally published June 2, 2022 at 2:55 PM.
