Five unionized Starbucks (SBUX) retail outlets across Ontario have ratified their first collective agreements.
The United Steelworkers union, which represents the Starbucks workers, says the union-led contracts are a significant milestone in the push for collective bargaining at the coffee company.
Starbucks locations in Ontario that ratified the collective agreements are situated in Ajax, Kitchener-Waterloo, and Toronto.
Seattle-based Starbucks has been grappling with growing unionization efforts in the U.S. and Canada for several years.
Union drives at Starbucks outlets in Canada have had mixed results. In 2023, the company closing its only unionized shop in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The United Steelworkers made a complaint on that closure, as well as for company threats against an employee for her unionization activities at a store in Langley, British Columbia.
The B.C. Labour Relations Board later found that the company had legitimate reasons to close the Vancouver location that had unionized.
The board also concluded that Starbucks wrongfully made “threats of adverse consequences” against the union-supporting employee.
In the U.S., a unionization push by the Starbucks Workers United union has grown from its first successful drive in Buffalo, New York in 2021 to now representing more than 550 stores and 11,000 workers.
The stock of Starbucks has declined 13% this year to trade at $80.30 U.S. per share.
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