2 Seattle Starbucks locations pushing to unionize

A rally was held outside the Starbucks headquarters in Seattle

SEATTLE - A rally was held in front of the Starbucks Seattle headquarters on Tuesday as two locations in the city pushed to unionize.

Workers at the 5th Avenue and Pike Street and the Westlake drive-thru locations came together to demand the change. A third store on Broadway and Denny Way began a similar push in December.

Forming a union would allow workers to barter for better wages and working conditions.

The move comes after two stores in Buffalo, New York voted to unionize, making them the first stores to unionize in the company's 50-year history.

Starbucks said its 8,000 company-owned U.S. stores function best when it has flexibility and can work directly with employees.

A spokesperson for Starbucks denies claims that the company is having anti-union meetings. He said the company is holding option meetings with partners who have questions about the unionizing process and to answer questions about the benefits Starbucks currently offers its partners.

At the rally, Seattle Councilwoman Kshama Sawant announced a resolution in support of local Starbucks workers.

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