Workers at Calgary Starbucks accept contract after union vote

Workers at a southwest Calgary Starbucks have voted to accept their first union contract — more than a year after they first unionized.

In a statement Friday, Starbucks Canada said it has reached a collective bargaining agreement with the United Steelworkers for the Millrise Centre drive-thru Starbucks in Calgary.

Workers had voted to unionize at that location in July 2022.

"The Calgary Starbucks workers voted to unionize after reaching out to the USW to achieve better working conditions and to address quality concerns and safety problems that had become daily issues in the store," United Steelworkers said in an online statement.

While other locations in the country have voted to unionize, the United Steelworkers says the Millrise Centre contract is the union's first unionized corporate Starbucks agreement reached in Alberta and the second in Canada.

Bargaining committee member Jacob Dickenscheid said the deal was a ground-breaking achievement which benefits workers at the store, all Starbucks workers, and the broader coffee industry.

The union says the deal ensures better working conditions, job security, and gives employees the ability to speak out on issues that affect their work lives.

It also secures a five-per cent wage increase, with another increase in two years.

The union said it represents Starbucks workers at stores in Calgary, Edmonton and Sherwood Park in Alberta, and Victoria, Vancouver, Surrey and Langley in British Columbia, and a newly organized store in Waterloo, Ont.

In its statement, Starbucks said it agrees that employees at each of the union-represented stores deserve to see progress toward first contracts tailored to their needs.

"That's why Starbucks is committed to progress negotiations towards a first contract where union representatives have approached contract bargaining with professionalism and have allowed both parties to discuss proposals."