Seattle Starbucks store votes to unionize, becomes first on West Coast

SEATTLE — Workers at a Starbucks store in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood voted to unionize on Tuesday, according to a tweet from Starbucks Workers United.

The vote was unanimous.

The Seattle store, located at the corner of Broadway and Denny, is the seventh store nationwide and the first store on the West Coast to unionize.

Workers from at least 140 stores in 27 states across the country have filed petitions to join the Starbucks Workers United movement.

Six other Starbucks stores in Seattle have also filed for union representation, including the company’s flagship Reserve Roastery.

The unionization efforts come as longtime Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz plans to return to lead the company on an interim basis after the coffee giant’s current chief executive announced his retirement last week.

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