Farmingville Starbucks First in Suffolk County to File Petition to Unionize

A Starbucks location in Farmingville has filed a union petition with the National Labor Relations Board after publicly stating their intent to petition to unionize a few weeks ago, according to Starbucks Workers United, a division of the Workers United NY/NJ Regional Joint Board.

Farmingville Starbucks, in Suffolk, joins three other Long Island Starbucks locations, all in Nassau, that have petitioned to unionize – Great Neck, Massapequa Village Square, and The Gallery at Westbury – and about 250 nationwide.

“Partners and customers are more than just numbers, they’re people; we’re people,” Sam Galdemis, a Starbucks worker for four years. “At the heart of Starbucks Coffee Company is the desire to foster human connection with a cup of coffee, and that integral piece of human connection has been lost. Putting partners first is the only way to achieve the company’s overall vision. To give partners the voice they need, a union is simply necessary.”

According to Starbucks Workers United, the Farmingville location “has suffered greatly” since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and that “many of the partners contracted Covid while at work.” The store reports being regularly understaffed with workers exposed to Covid-19 due to patients coming in the store after visiting the CityMD urgent care clinic and Covid testing site located next door.

As a result of the wave of Starbucks stores filing union petitions, 41 locations nationwide have successfully unionized, two of them in downstate New York, which has another nine pending union elections. Vote counts for the Great Neck and Massapequa stores are planned for Monday, May 2 in Brooklyn.

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