A Starbucks coffee cup is seen inside a Starbucks Coffee shop in Washington, DC, (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
ATLANTA - Employees at an Atlanta Starbucks are the latest in the growing number of the coffee chain’s stores to try and unionize.
Workers at the Howell Mill Starbucks location have submitted a petition to the National Labor Relations Board to be represented by Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union.
"Whether tenured or a green bean, we partners came to Starbucks because of the mission and values you publicly proclaim to uphold. Now, we unite together to hold Starbucks accountable for these claims," wrote members of the Howell Mills organizing committee in their letter.
STARBUCKS WORKERS AT BUFFALO STORE FORM 1ST U.S. UNION
The move comes just a month after Starbucks employees in Buffalo, New York, voted to unionize. That victory set off a wave of interest in unionization at other Starbucks locations. Individual stores in Massachusetts, Arizona, Oregon, Illinois, Colorado, Tennessee and Starbucks’ home city of Seattle have petitioned the labor board for union elections. Three additional stores in Buffalo are also seeking union votes.
A secret ballot will be run for the over 30 employees of the store to determine whether they will vote to form the union.
"I’m extremely proud of the work that my fellow committee members have put into this effort! We are ready and willing to fight for the change we deserve," said Page Smith, one of the partners who filed for the union election at the Atlanta Starbucks.
Starbucks owns more than 8,000 stores in the U.S.
Starbucks says its stores function better when it works directly with employees, not through a third party.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.