Starbucks: union elections, store by store, from NLRB records
Election tallies and complaint filings are published per location. The aggregate picture assembles itself.
Updated 27 Aug 2026 · sources re-checked
Key takeaways
- NLRB records name the employer, location, union, ballot tally and case status for each store.
- A filed petition is not an election, and an election win is not a contract.
- A charge is an allegation by any party; a complaint means a regional director found merit worth litigating.
- ALJ decisions can be appealed to the Board and then to a court of appeals, so 'ruled against' is often provisional.
- Count petitions, elections and complaints separately — collapsing them is the most common reporting error.
The National Labor Relations Board publishes representation petitions, election results and unfair labour practice cases in a searchable database. Each record names the employer, the location, the union, the tally of ballots and the case status.
Three distinctions that change the meaning
- Petition filed is not an election; elections can be withdrawn or blocked.
- A charge is an allegation by any party; a complaint means the agency found merit.
- An administrative law judge decision can be appealed to the Board and then to a court of appeals.
Certification is a starting line
Winning an election certifies a bargaining representative; it does not produce a contract. The measurable next step is whether a first collective bargaining agreement is reached, and how long it takes. That interval is where most disputes actually live.
Company statements typically emphasise the proportion of stores unrepresented and the wage and benefit investments made across the network. Both facts can be true simultaneously with a large number of merit complaints; they answer different questions.
Count petitions, elections won, and complaints separately. Collapsing them into one number is where most coverage goes wrong.
OpenWebReview editorial note
Labour matters also appear in the 10-K, usually briefly, under human capital and risk factors. The brevity is itself informative about how material management considers the issue to be.
Verify it yourself
- Search the NLRB case database by employer name, then filter by case type: RC for representation, CA for charges against an employer.
- For any store, open the case page and read the docket activity and the tally of ballots.
- Separate your counts into petitions filed, elections held, elections won, complaints issued and decisions.
- Check the election reports page for cumulative election data published by the agency.
- Read the human capital section of the latest 10-K and note what it does not mention.