What You Need to Know About
Collective Bargaining

After voting to unionize, Starbucks will negotiate with the union through a process called “collective bargaining”. These meetings are required to be conducted in-person, unless both parties agree otherwise. Starbucks believes in-person negotiations would best facilitate the give and take of negotiations.

Bargaining agreements are complex documents, and the first contract, on average, takes more than a year to complete. To date, Starbucks has proposed more than 500 single-store bargaining sessions and has appeared in-person and ready to bargain at more than 120 sets of negotiations. Workers United has only confirmed 23% of the bargaining sessions proposed by the company. Use the lookup tool below to view store-specific bargaining updates.

Store Bargaining Status

Search by city or store number to find the latest on collective bargaining progress. Information is updated weekly – learn more about the lookup feature.

News and Updates

Ensuring our 41st and Main store partners voices are heard

Read more about our efforts to ensure partners at our 41st and Main store in Kansas City have the opportunity to make their voice heard through a fairly conducted secret ballot election.

Red Cup real-talk

Read more about Red Cup Day and our continued efforts to progress bargaining with the unions that represent partners at a subset of our U.S. company-owned stores.

Starbucks appeals NLRB ALJ findings about our ability to improve pay and benefits

Read more about steps taken to appeal a recommended decision and order issued by an Administrative Law Judge regarding the implementation of wage and benefits improvements at U.S. stores.

Partners at nearly 20 stores have filed for decertification: What does it mean?

Read more about our ongoing efforts to negotiate first contracts for each of our certified stores, and the decision by partners at eight stores to petition the NLRB for a decertification election.

How Bargaining Works

Step 1

Union identifies a contact person for the newly certified store and issues a demand to bargain to the employer.

Step 2

The parties confirm the date and location for a first bargaining session (and potentially future bargaining sessions).

Step 3

Company and union bargaining committees meet in person for a series of store-specific bargaining sessions to present and discuss proposals and counterproposals for the certified store.

Step 4

Over a series of bargaining sessions, company and union bargaining committees try in good faith to reach tentative agreements on specific terms and conditions of employment for the certified store and continue that process until a good faith impasse or  agreement is reached on an entire contract.

Step 5

Partners accept or reject a proposed collective bargaining agreement for their store based on procedures set forth in the union’s by-laws and/or constitution.

Once a binding agreement is reached, Starbucks, the union, and all bargaining unit partners in that store, abide by the terms of that contract for the duration of the agreement.

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