Starbucks workers unionize at Lansing Twp., East Lansing locations

Bryce Airgood, Lansing State Journal
·2 min read
Union support signs hang outside the Starbucks at 1141 E. Grand River Ave. in East Lansing during a union vote count on June 9, 2022.
Union support signs hang outside the Starbucks at 1141 E. Grand River Ave. in East Lansing during a union vote count on June 9, 2022.

LANSING TWP. — “Attention customers, you’re now drinking union coffee,” Lansing Township barista Olivier Stroud announced after cheers and fist pumps from his co-workers.

On Thursday, five Michigan Starbucks held union votes, with workers at Lansing Township and East Lansing locations voting to unionize.

“After this is when the real work starts,” barista and Michigan State University student Grace Norris said.

The vote was 13-3 for the Lansing Township Starbucks at 2624 Lake Lansing Road and 19-0 for the East Lansing Starbucks at 1141 E. Grand River Ave.

The workers organized as Starbucks Workers United, part of Workers United, an affiliate of Service Employees International Union.

Barista and Michigan State University student Grace Norris brings signs into the Lansing Township Starbucks before a union vote on June 9, 2022.
Barista and Michigan State University student Grace Norris brings signs into the Lansing Township Starbucks before a union vote on June 9, 2022.

The two Starbucks were part of 10 stores that held union vote counts this week. Workers at four Ann Arbor locations, a Clinton Township location and one in Flint also voted to unionize. Workers at one Ann Arbor location and a Grand Blanc location voted against unionizing.

The Lansing Township baristas joined the nationwide union effort in February and East Lansing baristas filed a petition for a union election in March. Workers at a Starbucks in Buffalo, New York, were the first to successfully unionize in December.

Local employees said they wanted to unionize for a number of reasons, including being understaffed at key times, regularly being strained by mobile orders and suffering traumatic experiences with customers.

Norris said the next step for the workers is the bargaining stage.

“We’ll be there for months probably,” she said.

Lansing Township barista Olivier Stroud holds a sign during a union vote count at an East Lansing Starbucks on June 9, 2022.
Lansing Township barista Olivier Stroud holds a sign during a union vote count at an East Lansing Starbucks on June 9, 2022.

After the East Lansing vote, Norris said it all felt kind of surreal and this is an unprecedented time for Starbucks.

She’s been involved in the local union movement since the beginning and said she wants her co-workers to get the working conditions they deserve.

“I just love and respect my co-workers so much and the work that we do,” she said.

Contact Bryce Airgood at 517-267-0448 or bairgood@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @bairgood123.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Starbucks workers unionize at Lansing Twp., East Lansing locations