Manheim Township Starbucks workers vote for union at Belmont Shoppes location

• By Lisa Scheid/LNP | LancasterOnline

Baristas and shift supervisors at Starbucks in The Shoppes at Belmont in Manheim Township voted 19-0 this week to join Workers United, an affiliate of Service Employees International Union, according to the National Labor Relations Board.

There were 24 eligible employees to vote at the 1581 Fruitville Pike Starbucks; five did not vote, according to the NLRB.

It is the third Lancaster County location of the international coffee shop chain to seek a union election in the last year. The shop at 2208 Lincoln Highway East in East Lampeter Township store near Tanger Outlets became unionized last August. The Park City Center store in Lancaster city unionized in January.

Starting pay range for baristas at the Belmont  location is $15.25 to $17.31, according to the company’s job website. Shift supervisors’ starting pay range is $19.37 to $21.99.

Since 2021, more than 470 of Starbucks’ 9,600 company-owned U.S. stores have voted to unionize with Workers United. About 10,000 baristas are part of the movement, the union said.

Lancaster County has about 10 freestanding Starbucks stores and several others inside spaces at Millersville University, and Target and Giant stores.

The baristas at the Belmont Starbucks were among 14 other locations across the country that filed for a union vote with the NLRB on Aug. 2. The other location in Pennsylvania was in Exton, Chester County. Of the 18 Exton Starbucks baristas and shift supervisors at that location, 13 voted 12-1 to join Workers United on Aug. 20.

The Belmont workers said they wanted to be scheduled hours they were promised and wanted a say in business decisions at the store.

In a letter to Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan, the Belmont workers said they are seeking unionization for protections on “core issues like respect, living wages, racial and gender equity, and fair scheduling.”  Starbucks calls its employees “partners.”

The company and the union nationally are working toward ratified contracts for represented stores by the end of the year.

The company previously said it respects employees’ rights to organize and is committed to delivering on its “ promise to offer a bridge to a better future to all Starbucks partners.”