Ultimo employees are third recent group of coffee shop workers in Philly to kick out an unwanted union, as Center City Starbucks workers await vote to remove SBWU

Philadelphia, PA (January 8, 2024) – Following Ultimo Coffee employee Samuel Tarasenko’s submission of a petition seeking an employee vote to remove the union, “Workers United” (WU) union officials filed paperwork announcing they will give up control of the Germantown-area coffee shop. Pending certification of the union’s disclaimer of interest, Tarasenko and his fellow Ultimo employees will be free of the control of the WU union.

Tarasenko’s petition, which he filed with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, contained signatures from a majority of employees at his workplace, more than enough to trigger a vote under NLRB rules. Because Pennsylvania lacks Right to Work protections for its private sector workers, SBWU union bosses can compel Tarasenko and his coworkers to pay union dues as a condition of keeping their jobs. In Right to Work states, in contrast, union membership and all union financial support are strictly voluntary.

However, in both Right to Work and non-Right to Work states, union officials in a unionized workplace are empowered by federal law to impose a union contract on all employees in a work unit, including those who oppose the union. A successful decertification vote strips union officials of that power. However, WU union officials, likely fearing a losing vote tally, disclaimed interest in the unit of Ultimo employees before a vote could occur.

Coffee Employees Across Philly and U.S. Seeking Freedom from Union Control

Tarasenko and his colleagues join Starbucks workers and other coffee employees across the country in banding together to vote out WU union officials, who have targeted coffee shops nationwide for unionization. This year, Starbucks employees in Manhattan, NY; two Buffalo, NY locations; Pittsburgh, PA; Bloomington, MN; Salt Lake City, UT; Greenville, SC; Oklahoma City, OK; and San Antonio, TX, have all sought free Foundation legal aid in filing or defending decertification petitions at the NLRB.

In Philadelphia, workers at Guava and Java’s location at Philadelphia International Airport successfully voted in May 2023 to oust UNITE HERE union officials, and a few months later Good Karma Café employees voted out WU union officials. Tarasenko and his colleagues are now the third recent group of Philadelphia coffee employees to successfully remove union representation with Foundation aid. Currently, workers from a Center City Starbucks are pursuing a decertification petition with Foundation legal assistance, also against the Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) union.

This growing wave of decertification attempts is occurring after WU union agents engaged in a multi-year, aggressive unionization campaign against Starbucks employees. As part of the campaign, WU (an affiliate of the large Service Employees International Union) spent over $2 million to target the coffee chain with paid union agents – including “salts” who obtained jobs at Starbucks locations with the covert mission of installing union power. After achieving this goal, many “salts” abandoned the stores.

Many workers targeted by this campaign are demanding decertification votes roughly one year after a WU union was installed at their store, which is the earliest possible opportunity afforded by federal law to do so.

WU Officials Using Legal Maneuvers to Stop Coffee Employees from Removing Union

Unfortunately, union officials have many ways to manipulate federal labor law to prevent workers from voting them out, including by filing unverified charges. Currently, WU union officials are attempting to block Starbucks workers nationwide (including at the Center City Starbucks in Philadelphia) from exercising their right to decertify the union by filing charges against company management.

“While we’re happy that Mr. Tarasenko and his coworkers successfully sent the WU union packing, it’s unfortunate that many others in Philadelphia and across the country are unable to exercise this right due to union legal tactics,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “That WU union officials spent millions to extend their power over Starbucks and other coffee employees and are now stopping those same employees from exercising their rights indicates their campaign is about union power, not workers’ concerns.”

“Workers who encounter coercive maneuvers from WU union officials should contact Foundation attorneys for free legal aid in defending their free choice rights,” Mix added.

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.