![Starbucks Workers At A Chicago Location Begin Unionization Attempt A Starbucks sign hangs above the entrance of one of the chain's coffee shops in the Loop on January 04, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. Workers at the coffee shop have submitted signed cards seeking to join an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), making it the first Starbucks in the Midwest to request a union certification.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/starbucks-staff-union-vote-ny.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
Starbucks Corp. employees at three more restaurants in New York state will vote on unionization, a U.S. labor official ruled Friday, offering organizers a chance to expand a new labor foothold that’s already inspiring copycat efforts around the country.
In her ruling, Nancy Wilson, an acting regional director of the National Labor Relations Board, rejected the company’s arguments against holding store-by-store votes. She ordered that ballots be mailed to employees on January 31 and due back by February 22.
Employees at the three stores will vote on joining Workers United, the same Service Employees International Union affiliate that recently won elections at two other sites in the same Buffalo region. Those two restaurants represent the sole unionized locations at Starbucks’s roughly 9,000 corporate-run U.S. locations.
![US-LABOUR-DEMO-AMAZON US-LABOUR-DEMO-AMAZON](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/starbucks-staff-union-vote-ny1.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
Workers are also slated to vote on joining Workers United this month in Arizona, and others have petitioned for votes in cities including Boston, Chicago, Seattle, Knoxville, Tennessee, and the company’s hometown of Seattle. The campaign has continued to spread this week, with new election petitions filed in Ohio, New Jersey, and Florida.
In a December letter to employees, the company’s North America president Rossann Williams reiterated that “we do not want a union between us as partners,” but that “we respect the legal process,” and “will bargain in good faith” at the first New York store where the union prevailed.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Biden Drops Out of Presidential Race , Endorses Harris to Replace Him
- Why Biden Dropped Out
- The Chaos and Commotion of the RNC in Photos
- Why We All Have a Stake in Twisters’ Success
- 8 Eating Habits That Actually Improve Your Sleep
- Stop Feeling Bad About Sweating
- Welcome to the Noah Lyles Olympics
- Get Our Paris Olympics Newsletter in Your Inbox
Contact us at letters@time.com