Arizona Starbucks store to hold vote on unionizing

PHOENIX (AP) — Employees at a suburban Phoenix Starbucks store are holding a vote on whether to unionize. If the Wednesday vote goes in favor of unionizing, the Mesa, Arizona, store would become the latest in a nationwide movement among the coffee chain’s workers. A Starbucks store in Buffalo, New York, became the first to unionize in December. A second one in the area followed a month later. Since then, more than 65 stores in 20 states have filed petitions with the labor board to hold union elections. Starbucks opposes unionization, saying the company functions best when it can work directly with its employees.