US: Starbucks workers agree to a union in a first-of-its-kind move

Starbucks workers at a store in Buffalo, New York, voted to unionise on Thursday, a first for the coffee retailer in the US and the latest sign that the labour movement is stirring after decades of decline.

The National Labour Relations Board said on Thursday that workers voted 19-8 in favour of a union at the Elmwood Avenue location, one of three stores in Buffalo where elections were being held.

A second store rejected the union in a vote of 12-8, but the union said it might challenge that result because it wasn’t confident all of the eligible votes had been counted. The results of a third store could not be determined because both sides challenged seven separate votes.