unions

County Board agrees to fund tentative union agreement for Arlington service, labor and trades workers

By Jo DeVoe
County workers fix a valve in Ballston (via Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services/Flickr)

Some county employees now have a labor contract with Arlington County.

This weekend, the Arlington County Board adopted a resolution funding the tentative collective bargaining agreement between the county and the local union representing service, labor and trade workers.

County and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) representatives negotiated a tentative collective bargaining agreement effective July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2027. The union ratified the agreement and the County Board reviewed the potential fiscal impacts of the 55-article agreement this November.

All that remained was to approve a funding resolution, the action taken this weekend. The provisions that will cost the county money will either be funded with tax increases, to the tune of $5-9 per average residential tax bill, or budget cuts — either .1% cuts across the board or the elimination of about four full-time employees.

“We’re very happy that we came to an agreement,” says Anthony Pistone, the president of AFSCME Local 3001, which represents Service, Labor and Trades workers in Arlington and Alexandria. “It’s not exactly what we want but we hope to do better next time and in the next three years.”

He praised both Arlington and Alexandria’s labor ordinances but said they do not go far enough. AFSCME hopes to change them so unionized employees have a greater say in day-to-day operations, Pistone said.

“For the time being, we’re excited for what we have,” he said.

Among other provisions, the contract outlines pay increases in the coming years and moves employees to a step-and-grade model — also recently adopted by the Arlington County police and fire departments — which proponents say better rewards experience and makes raises more predictable.

Pistone says the union is most excited about how the contract establishes committees focused on issues such as retirement, benefits and working conditions.

“We formed these committees because the labor laws in Virginia are anti-labor, and we need them to further the agenda on certain aspects of safety and also for better working environment for the people,” says Pistone, who works for Arlington’s Water, Sewer and Streets division. “It gives us a little more of a seat at the table, which is what matters to the guys on the ground.”

The committees also afford employees to sit down with their direct managers to discuss everything from vending machines to overtime. This structure is experimental and other unions have not adopted it, says Pistone.

“It’s unorthodox but it might work better, so it might be a great thing,” he said.

A decentralized approach was also important to unionized employees and why they chose AFSCME. The national union was instrumental in the initial labor laws that passed at the state level — allowing local governments in Virginia to collectively bargain with employee unions — and yet the organization remains grass-roots, he said.

“We have the opportunity to govern ourselves,” Pistone said. “Even though we’re under the umbrella of AFSCME, we do have ability to have our voices heard in a unique way.”

Prosecutors dismiss charges against former Arlington teachers union president, for now

By Jo DeVoe
Former Arlington Education Association President Ingrid Gant delivered remarks during a press conference in September 2021 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Fairfax County prosecutors are taking a step back from pursuing the embezzlement charges levied against former Arlington teachers union president, Ingrid Gant.

That decision, however, does not mean the case against Gant — who was ousted in the spring of 2022 after a 6-year tenure — is closed. The Fairfax County Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney says Gant’s case is serious and they are keeping their options open.

“Due to the scale of this alleged embezzlement, prosecutors are continuing to investigate the facts of this case and potential steps forward,” Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Deputy Chief of Staff Laura Birnbaum tells ARLnow.

Gant, 54, of Woodbridge, was arrested earlier this year and charged with embezzling more than $400,000 from the Arlington Education Association (AEA). An accounting firm discovered the alleged mishandlings after a 6-month audit and notified Fairfax County police detectives. They found Gant provided herself with multiple bonuses and used debit cards for unauthorized purchases.

Prosecutors dismissed the charges without prejudice, meaning they can refile charges at any time, explains June Prakash, the Arlington Education Association president who replaced Gant, noting Virginia does not have a statute of limitations for felonies.

“Nevertheless, this dismissal shows up as ‘final’ on the court docket because, when later charges are filed, it will be assigned a new case number in the court’s system,” she said.

Sources familiar with financial cases say that investigations are often time-consuming because prosecutors have to sort through a high volume of bank records and other documents to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that a defendant committed a crime. This standard of proof is higher than what is required to arrest or charge someone with a crime.

With so many records to review, gathering evidence can take longer than court proceedings afford prosecutors. To avoid missing court deadlines, prosecutors will sometimes decline to prosecute in the short term, leaving open the option to re-file the same charges later, once all the necessary preparation is completed.

Prior to Gant’s ouster, union members said the organization had effectively stopped operating as the collective bargaining process was gaining speed. No one answered the phone, the website was down for two months and a key meeting leading up to an executive board election was canceled, raising doubts among members about the election’s fairness.

An attorney for the Virginia Education Association said in a memo that the Arlington union’s finances were in disarray and not communicated to members. Local leaders admitted the disorganization in a memo to members, saying AEA began the 2021-22 fiscal year without a budget and owed $732,000 in dues to the state and national unions.

Fairfax is handling Gant’s case because AEA headquarters is located in the Bailey’s Crossroads neighborhood of Fairfax County, just over the Arlington border.

County weighs tentative wage increases for trades workers against predicted 2025 budget gap

By Jo DeVoe
County workers fix a valve in Ballston (via Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services/Flickr)

Unionized trade workers have tentatively negotiated with Arlington County for wage increases and safety protections for the next four years.

Predicting a budget gap in the 2025 budget, however, the county says it will have to raise taxes or make budget cuts to pay for these provisions, according to a fiscal analysis the Arlington County Board is set to hear about during its Saturday meeting.

If the county opts to raise taxes, residents could see their bill go up $5-9 on average. This would be in addition to a predicted 1.8% increase in real estate values, which works out to an average increase of $146. For reference, property values increased 4.5% for 2023.

Higher taxes or budget cuts would cover most of the increases. The rest would be covered with a nearly $3 utility fee increase and a new stormwater utility fee that residents will begin paying in 2024 in lieu of the current sanitary district tax.

Arlington County held steady residential real estate taxes this year, at $1.013 for every $100 in assessed value. Arlington County Board Chair Christian Dorsey has foreshadowed this could go up next year, however. To cover the tentative wage increases, county officials are suggesting raising the rate to $1.0136 or $1.0141.

County government and the Service, Labor, And Trades (SLT) Bargaining Unit have tentatively agreed to 55 provisions, of which only a handful, including higher wages, have financial impacts, according to the county. Another would ensure employees do not end up getting less weekly pay after responding to emergencies.

“Crews work on emergency situations, like water main breaks, often outside of the normal workday schedule and can be scheduled outside of their normal hours to complete such work,” Director of Management and Finance Maria Meredith says.  “In cases where this occurs and impacts the normal work schedule, this premium ensures that staff will receive at least 40 hours of pay in the week if such a situation arises.”

SLT union members also requested more subsidized parking for unionized employees and the ability to do union-related work without forfeiting docked pay or paid time off.

This works out to about $1 million in additional expense in the 2025 fiscal year budget: $511,000 from the General Fund, $401,000 from the Utility Fund and $94,000 to other funds. Budgets through the 2028 fiscal year will be affected, too, and the county is now looking for funding sources.

“Given the projected budget gap in the FY 2025 General Fund budget, the $0.5 million FY 2025 impact of this potential agreement cannot be absorbed within estimated revenue growth without taking service reductions, increasing taxes, or a combination of these options,” per a county report.

The following chart shows two scenarios for how the tax bill could go up to cover the tentative agreement:

Scenarios for paying for wage increases for service and trades workers (via Arlington County)

If the Board opts not to raise taxes, it could pay for the $511,000 General Fund obligation with across-the-board cuts to the tune of 0.1% or eliminating about four full-time employees who earn $125,000 each, including benefits.

Any reductions “would be considered with input and engagement from the community,” the county says.

“In prior years, similar FTE reductions have been taken across a variety of agencies, including planning, public safety, human services and environmental services,” the county says.

Arlington County proposes a modest increase to the water-sewer rate to cover the $401,000 in increased costs coming from the utility fund.

On average, residential customers would see their water bill go up $2.85 per year. A $0.20 per thousand gallon rate increase to cover expenses to the Stormwater Utility Fund will be included in next year’s new stormwater utility fee.

In December, the County Board “can resolve to make a good faith commitment to appropriate funding to meet the obligations under the tentative agreement,” the report says. If the Board does not, either the County Manager or the union may reopen negotiations.

Photo via Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services/Flickr

Arlington teachers decry impending healthcare changes as a ‘catastrophe’

By Jo DeVoe
1/8

Over the course of an hour last night, Arlington Public Schools teachers excoriated the School Board and central administration for how they are handling what some call a healthcare catastrophe.

On Dec. 31, APS staff will lose the healthcare they receive from Kaiser Permanente and Cigna through APS, to be replaced in January by CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield.

Many current and retired staff say this change will upend the Kaiser healthcare teams they have built for themselves and their families over several years and in some cases, decades.

APS says it solicited bids from healthcare vendors and received four proposals, including CareFirst, the vendor it ultimately selected — but not Kaiser.

The school system first announced the change on Sept. 20 and the response was swift. Teachers spoke up at the subsequent September School Board meeting and ARLnow received at least a dozen emails from staff who were upset and confused by the change.

These feelings reached a boiling point on Thursday despite efforts from APS to smooth things over. APS held a “resource fair” with CareFirst representatives and Human Resources staff to help understand their benefits and enroll but according to the teachers union, the Arlington Education Association, this did not ease the anxiety of the nearly 400 people who showed up — some of whom were turned away.

“This disrespectful treatment of staff, lack of response and inappropriate responses from HR and lack of transparency on issues that not only affect staff but students and families, is disheartening,” says teacher Tricia Zipfel.

When teacher Marnie Lewis took the microphone at the School Board meeting, she began crying but eventually rallied to encouragement from colleagues in attendance.

“This [change] really took me to my knees,” she said. “I can’t believe I’m here. I’m here because this is how upset I am. I used to love working here, I was proud to work here and I’m not feeling that anymore… I would just like it if someone could answer my emails and questions. That would be great.”

Teacher Heidi Haretos, who recently moved from North Carolina to Arlington, asked central office and the School Board: “If your wife, daughter, husband or son had a serious health condition, and had a trusted medical team supporting them through Kaiser, would you have made this decision?”
(more…)

Petition filed by Union Kitchen employee to end relationship with union is B.S., union rep says

By Matt Blitz
Union Kitchen in Ballston (staff photo)

A petition filed by a Union Kitchen employee is calling for the end to its relationship with its labor union, but the union is dismissing the effort as a ploy by management.

It was announced on Friday that a Union Kitchen employee has filed a petition with the National Labor Review Board (NLRB) to end its relationship with United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400. The petition has reportedly been signed by a number of Union Kitchen employees, including those who work at the Ballston location

This would effectively end UFCW Local 400’s ability to bargain and support unionized employees at Union Kitchen.

“Employees of five Union Kitchen Grocery locations in the Washington, DC, metro area have filed a petition seeking to end United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400’s monopoly bargaining power over workers,” reads a press release. “The employees submitted their decertification petition to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 5 with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.”

But a UFCW Local 400 spokesperson insisted that this effort isn’t legit, accusing Union Kitchen management of being involved in the petition and using potentially illegal tactics, like intimidating employees, to sign the petition.

“Our take is that it’s basically bullshit,” Travis Acton said. “We knew this was coming. This is not a surprise. The only thing, honestly, that caught me by surprise is how blatantly illegal they’re going about it.”

It was just over a year ago when employees at five Union Kitchens voted in favor of forming a union, including the one in Ballston on Wilson Blvd. That came after a long-running effort that was delayed due to challenged ballots and charges of unfair labor practices. It has continued to be a contentious relationship ever since.

In November, the NLRB determined that Union Kitchen management violated 26 counts of labor law including union-busting tactics and wrongfully terminating employees. In March of this year, the union filed a wage theft lawsuit against management. And just last month, the union called for a boycott of all Union Kitchen locations.

The boycott remains ongoing, Acton said.

The employees who are calling for the decertification are being provided “free legal aid” by National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, a non-profit with a mission to “eliminate coercive union power and compulsory unionism abuses.”

In the press release sent out by National Right to Work, the organization said that a single employee submitted the petition but it has been supported “by the vast majority of her coworkers.” The employee claimed in a letter sent to Union Kitchen CEO Cullen Gilchrist that close to 90% of workers signed the petition, as reported by the Washington Business Journal.

Acton said that those numbers might be misleading. He told ARLnow that in recent months the company has significantly added to the list of employees that are eligible to be represented by the union. Acton claims that a number of those added employees are actually people in management roles, those who own brands sold at the store, and those who might have personal relationships with Gilchrist.

“Nobody’s ever seen them work in the store or work an actual shift in the store,” he said.

Plus, Acton claimed, that he’s heard from employees who felt like they were forced to sign the petition or they would get fired.

“Based on our experience over the last six months to a year of them firing anybody who comes to the bargaining table, who supports the union, I believe them,” he said.

Intimidation of this nature is potentially illegal, according to federal law.

As expected, Union Kitchen CEO Cullen Gilchrist supports the petition to end the company’s employees’ relationship with the union and specifically noted the ongoing boycott as the reason for his support in the following email to ARLnow.

(more…)

APS staff to vote on making Arlington Education Association their official union

By Jo DeVoe
Arlington Education Association members wearing red in the May 26, 2022 School Board meeting, when a collective bargaining resolution was passed (courtesy of Virginia Education Association/Olivia Geho)

Local teachers union Arlington Education Association is vying to become the exclusive collective bargaining representative for public school staff.

Arlington Public Schools educators, led by AEA, will hold an election to certify AEA as the official union for teachers and support staff. Currently, the membership-based organization advocates for employees but cannot guarantee benefits through legally binding contracts.

The forthcoming election would reinstate collective bargaining after more than 40 years without it, according to a press release from the AEA sent yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon.

“The time has come,” said AEA president June Prakash in a statement. “No more decisions about us, without us.”

The Arlington School Board unanimously approved collective bargaining last May, becoming the second school system in Virginia, behind Richmond, to do so. The Virginia General Assembly repealed a ban on unionizing in 2020.

The road since has been rocky. Last fall, some AEA members said they were taking more time to review language in the resolution and were stymied by a communication breakdown between staff and administrators. At the time, only school administrators had elected a bargaining unit.

The next step forward for AEA will be providing APS with its 20-day notice for a union election.

In a statement, AEA Collective Bargaining Committee Chair Juan Andres Otal said collective bargaining will make a positive difference for students and employees of APS.

“Collective bargaining is our opportunity to have a voice in improving our working conditions, compensation, and benefits. We can’t wait any longer for more planning time,” Otal said. “We can’t wait for a wage that keeps up with the cost of living.”

AEA said in its release that it is grateful to the educators and community leaders who “show up and fight for” school employees and students.

“While there is still much work to do before securing a contract, educators acknowledge and celebrate this achievement for the historic moment it is,” the union said.

The statement added:

We know we will ultimately prevail with your ongoing support, leadership, and commitment to what is right. Our schools must acknowledge that to recruit and retain the best, the division must offer better conditions to all employees. We will continue to press forward and ensure our schools remain strong for our community, our educators, and most importantly, our students.

AEA is itself recovering from recent controversies. Earlier this year, former president Ingrid Gant was arrested for embezzling approximately $400,000 in funds from the organization she led for six years, before she and her executive board were ousted. AEA’s national affiliate, the National Education Association, temporarily took the helm.

Prakash became president last year after working as a kindergarten teacher in APS for six years. Since then, she has advocated for better pay and working conditions for employees and more respect from the School Board.

Earlier this month, she called out APS for telling bus drivers to pick up trash. She has also advocated for more equality in raises in the proposed 2023-24 schools operating budget.

“Two things can be true: We can love our jobs and our students, but also, we can demand to be paid what we’re worth,” Prakash said at the March 2 School Board meeting.

BREAKING: Former Arlington teachers union president charged with embezzlement

By Jo DeVoe
Former Arlington Education Association President Ingrid Gant delivered remarks during a press conference in September 2021 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at 5:45 p.m.) A former president of the Arlington teachers union, who was ousted last spring, has been charged with embezzling more than $400,000 from the organization.

Ingrid Gant, 54, of Woodbridge, was arrested yesterday (Monday) in Prince William County on four counts of embezzlement. She was taken to the county’s jail and later released on an unsecured bond, according to a press release from the Fairfax County Police Department today (Tuesday).

Fox 5 first reported the arrest.

Gant led the Arlington Education Association (AEA) for six years before being ousted last spring along with her executive board.

FCPD says it was notified of her potential theft last September after an internal audit determined she had “failed to provide financial reports and failed to file tax returns,” raising concerns from Arlington Education Association board members, per the release.

“Calibre CPA Group was hired to conduct an audit of the funds. After six months of reviewing the activity, it was determined Gant embezzled $410,782.10 throughout her tenure as president,” the release said. “Detectives were notified and began their investigation, while working closely with the accounting firm and AEA to review the documentation. Detectives determined Gant provided herself with multiple bonuses and used debit cards for unauthorized purchases.”

Gant was terminated on March 30, 2022, according to police. By April, the National Education Association, which represents educators and staff from public school through higher education, was temporarily leading the AEA under an emergency “protective trusteeship,” ARLnow first reported.

At the time, sources said they were frustrated that the organization had effectively stopped operating, just as the collective bargaining process was starting to ramp up. No one would answer the phone, the website was down for two months and the meeting when members were supposed to launch their executive board campaigns was canceled, raising doubts among members about the fairness of the election.

Meanwhile, a lawyer for the Virginia Education Association said in a memo that the union’s finances were in disarray and not communicated to members. Local leaders admitted the disorganization in a memo to members, saying AEA began the 2021-22 fiscal year without a budget and owed $732,000 in dues to the state and national unions.

AEA had also picked up some negative press that year for publishing a press release with a number of grammatical and stylistic errors.

Detectives are asking anyone with information about this case to please call the FCPD Major Crimes Bureau at 703-246-7800. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Fairfax County Crime Solvers by phone at 866-411-8477 and by web.

AEA headquarters is located in the Bailey’s Crossroads neighborhood of Fairfax County, just over the Arlington border.

Major rally planned in Courthouse to support of unionized Starbucks employees

By Matt Blitz
Employees at the Courthouse Starbucks went on strike in November (staff photo)

(Updated at 2:25 p.m.) A major rally is being planned for later this week in front of the county government headquarters, in a show of solidarity with recently-unionized Starbucks employees.

The president of the AFL-CIO and Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) are both expected to attend, among others.

The rally is one of ten across the county, organized as part of a National Day of Action by Starbucks Workers United. It’s set for this Friday, Dec. 9, at 5 p.m. outside of the Bozman Government Center at 2100 Clarendon Blvd.

Workers at the nearby Courthouse Starbucks who voted to unionize last month and went on strike a week later.

Organizers say Liz Shuler the president of the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the country, will be there and speaking. Plus, a number of state and local elected officials are planning to attend, including Beyer, State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-30), and Del. Alfonso Lopez (D- 49).

Several County Board members are also expected to attend, including Christian Dorsey, Matt de Ferranti, and Takis Karantonis.

Speeches are planned from Shuler, Beyer, and several regional union leaders — including Arlington and Fairfax County teachers union presidents, who will say they will be rejecting Starbucks gift cards as holiday presents for this year in protest.

This “Day of Action” is also meant to ask Starbucks to stop “bullying” unionized employees and to highlight its workers’ right to organize.

“The purpose of the Day of Action is for the entire community to tell Starbucks to stop its union-busting and respect its workers’ right to organize,” says a press release.

Dec. 9 marks the one-year anniversary of the first Starbucks union election victory in Buffalo, New York. Since then more than 260 stores have voted to unionize, involving more than 7,000 workers.

Over the last year, the coffee behemoth has been hit with hundreds of unfair labor practice charges, including retaliatory firings, closing union stores, and withholding benefits from employees. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is investigating more than 300 of these accusations.

On Nov. 9, Starbucks employees at the Courthouse Plaza location voted to unionize and join Starbucks Workers United. It was the second D.C.-area Starbucks to do so. Union members told ARLnow at the time they were seeking better pay, more consistent hours, and uniformly enforced rules and regulations.

Employees went on strike shortly thereafter.

“Starbucks has been dragging its feet coming to the negotiation table,” employee and union member Sam Dukore said at the time. “And even when they do, their lawyers stand up after like a minute and a half or so and just leave. And that is not negotiating in good faith.”

Since the strike several weeks ago, “the company is still not coming to the bargaining table” a union spokesperson told ARLnow.

Police and fire unions poised to lose battle for new pay scale amid economic downturn

By Jo DeVoe
Arlington Coalition of Police president Randall Mason at the Arlington County Board meeting on Nov. 18, 2022 (via Arlington County)

Arlington’s fire and police unions are poised to lose a battle to change the pay scale the county uses — one that union representatives say contributes to ongoing staffing shortages.

This year, the Arlington County Police Department has hired 29 officers and lost 52 officers, Arlington Coalition of Police (ACOP) President Randall Mason told the Arlington County Board in a meeting earlier this month. It will lose five more by February 2023.

“This is the worst staffing crisis we’ve had in 30 years,” Mason said. “Our overtime to make minimum staffing was at 7,000 hours in 2021. It’s on pace to break that this year. The year before that, it was 4,000 hours. We’re right on the verge of mandatory overtime.”

The attrition, due in part to burnout and low morale, has forced ACPD to scale back some services. Amid this trend, last summer the Arlington County Board voted to reinstate collective bargaining for the first time since the 1970s.

For ACOP and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 2800, the vote meant a chance to renegotiate pay scale structures to keep officers from going to better-paying jurisdictions.

Currently, Arlington County uses an open-range system, which union reps say results in officers with less experience earning more than people of the same rank with more experience. In October, 204 out of 304 ACOP members were paid less than at least one person in their same rank with fewer years of service, Mason said.

“That’s a direct result of the open range system,” he said.

For this reason, ACOP and IAFF are asking for a step scale, which they say is used by most municipalities and more fairly rewards years of service. But this year, the unions and the county reached an impasse regarding this change, among others, and had to go to arbitration.

Unions asked the county to make the switch in one year — a pricy ask the county rejected due to inflation and high commercial vacancy rates putting pressure on its tax revenue and expenditures. ACOP estimates making the switch in one year for police would have cost the county $9 million.

“Just like the fire department, we shot too high,” Mason said. “[But] 66% of officers being paid in an unfair manner isn’t an aberration — it’s something that needs to be addressed.”

Arbiters sided with the county in both negotiations because making the change in one year would be financially unreasonable, but they did indicate their support for a step scale.

“Overall, the weight of the evidence supports the Union’s proposal to move to a step wage structure which will address the problem of salary compression and is in other comparable departments,” writes Samantha Tower, who was the arbiter for the negotiations with the fire department.

IAFF President Brian Lynch told the county Tower did not have the power to provide a middle-ground solution.

“She went out of her way to say there is a better path,” he said.

The Arlington County Board could make a decision on the public safety employee contracts next month. If members approve them as is, they would cement the current pay structures for three more years. The Board could also force county staff and unions to go back to the table and renegotiate.

That’s the path Lynch says he hopes the Board takes.

“With time, your support and the guidance that arbitrator provided… we can make the promise that collective bargaining holds for firefighters in the community we protect a priority we hope you join us in that effort,” he said.

(more…)

Newly unionized Starbucks baristas are on strike in Courthouse

By Matt Blitz
1/3

(Updated at 10:25 a.m.) The employees at the Courthouse Starbucks have gone on strike, days after unionizing.

The reason for the strike, per Starbucks employee and union member Samuel Dukore, is that the company is not negotiating “in good faith” when it comes to a contract.

“Starbucks has been dragging its feet coming to the negotiation table,” Dukore told ARLnow, outside of the Starbucks at Courthouse Plaza, near county government headquarters. “And even when they do, their lawyers stand up after like a minute and a half or so and just leave. And that is not negotiating in good faith.”

Unionized employees are asking for better pay, more staffing, and more concern over the health and safety of workers.

It appears that the employees are among the more than 1,000 Starbucks employees that have reportedly gone on strike today, on one of the company’s busiest days.

Earlier this month, on Election Day, Courthouse employees voted to become the third D.C.-area Starbucks to unionize (behind one in D.C. and in Merrifield) and the first in Arlington. The employees have joined Starbucks Workers United.

The Starbucks in Courthouse Plaza remains open. It currently appeared well-staffed with un-unionized employees and managers, and a greeter at the door welcoming customers.

Employees at the Courthouse Starbucks have unionized

By Matt Blitz
1/2

(Updated, 5:30 p.m.) Yesterday was an election day as well for employees at the Starbucks in Courthouse Plaza, who voted to become the second D.C.-area location of the coffee giant to unionize.

Workers at a local Starbucks won their election to form a union, as first reported by Washington Post reporter Lauren Kaori Gurley. The employees are organizing with and joining Starbucks Workers United.

Arlington Democrats congratulated employees at the Starbucks in Courthouse at 2200 Clarendon Blvd for winning their union election.

Samuel Dukore, a member of the union and a shift supervisor at the Courthouse Starbucks, told ARLnow that he and his colleagues unionized for better pay, more consistent hours, and uniformly enforced rules and regulations.

This marks the 260th Starbucks nationwide to unionize but only the second one in the D.C. area. The other unionized Starbucks is on P Street in the District, which just voted to form its union last month.

As for what’s next, Dukore he would like to see Starbucks come to the bargaining table to “negotiate in good faith” with the union for a contract.

Over the summer, employees at Union Kitchen in Ballston also voted to form a union joining others at Union Kitchen locations across the region. The National Labor Board determined that Union Kitchen management violated a number of labor laws and engaged in illegal union-busting tactics while workers sought to unionize, as DCist first reported earlier today.

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