Exton Starbucks baristas petition for union election

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Starbucks baristas in Exton at the location at 300 E. Lincoln Hwy. filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday, calling for a union election.

The filing marks the first at a Starbucks in Chester County. Starbucks workers formed their very first union at a Buffalo store in 2021.

“For my partners and I, unionizing means a chance to have our voices heard and our hard work acknowledged,” barista Hannah Linkowsky said in a press release. “Working for this company for so long, at several different locations, has shown me the loyalty partners have to their stores and coworkers, and that’s exactly what’s motivating us to negotiate for better working conditions.”

In just three years, Starbucks Workers United has expanded its reach to more than 470 stores nationwide. The push at the national coffee chain infused a jolt of energy into the labor movement.

“At Starbucks we believe that our direct relationship as partners is core to the experiences we create in our stores, and we respect our partners’ rights to have a choice on the topic of unions,” company spokesperson Jay Go Guasch said in an emailed statement. “We are committed to delivering on our promise to offer a bridge to a better future to all Starbucks partners.”

This week, workers at 15 locations across California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, Oregon and Pennsylvania petitioned the NLRB for union elections. Starbucks Workers United credited its unionization campaign on “peer-to-peer organizing led by workers, for workers.”

The world’s largest coffeehouse chain operates more than 9,000 locations throughout the country.

Workers United and the company reached a breakthrough on a path forward in February. The union hopes to have ratified contracts for represented stores by the end of the year.