The successful effort to unionize hundreds of Starbucks locations around the country was a feel-good story in 2022. As the new year began, workers at some 335 stores had taken votes and 280 had opted to unionize, an 83.6% win rate that experts say is higher than average among U.S. organizing efforts.
Considering that barely a year ago no company-owned Starbucks had union workers, such an achievement is worth noting. But the shine surrounding these very public victories risks obscuring larger and darker truths about the state of unionizing in the country — and to what lengths employers are going to defeat it.
