UPDATE: The employees voted to join the union on May 14.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Baristas at a Tampa Starbucks filed a petition for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday.
The location at Dale Mabry and Linebaugh would be the first in the region to unionize. Employees there would join over 10,000 baristas nationwide as part of the Starbucks Workers Union.
A Sarasota location attempted to join in 2022, but employees voted against unionization.
Blake Smallen is a barista at the Dale Mabry location — they have worked there for over 4 years.
"We’ve had to work under unacceptable conditions. We’re understaffed, underpaid, and unable to make decisions about things that impact us directly," they said in an email to WUSF.
"We believe that using our collective voice to demand better is the only path towards a more dignified workplace," Smallen added.
More than 20 stores nationwide are expected to petition for unionization.
Over 400 Starbucks have already unionized.
Smallen said now that employees have filed the petition, the next step is to schedule a union election with the NLRB.
