OVERLAND PARK STARBUCKS VOTE UNION DESPITE LEGAL DEBATE!!!

Johnson County baristas are taking on a global corporation and high-powered lawyers.

Their victory isn't assured but here's the evening update on their progress amid allegations that leaders are getting fired for their efforts . . .

Workers at the café on West 75th Street gathered Friday afternoon as the tally was read live from a National Labor Relations Board office.

While the final tally of unchallenged votes Friday was 6-1 in favor of a union, the election was not finished. Starbucks lawyers are challenging the other half of the 14 ballots cast.

Union organizers say those ballots include three pro-union workers who allege wrongful firing. There is currently no timeline for when those ballots might be verified.

The 75th Street location was among four Starbucks cafes that were counting union votes on Friday. In particular, the Overland Park workers are demanding better working conditions and health care benefits.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Starbucks workers claim victory in Overland Park union vote, first in Kansas City area

Starbucks workers in Overland Park appear to have successfully voted to form the company's first union in the Kansas City area. Workers at the café on West 75th Street gathered Friday afternoon as the tally was read live from a National Labor Relations Board office. The vote came back 6-1 in favor of the union.

Related reading . . .

Starbucks Is Desperate to Stop Unionization, So It's Firing Worker Leaders

Starbucks is firing worker activists as it seeks to blunt the momentum of the union drive sweeping the company. Jacobin spoke to worker Laila Dalton, who was fired just weeks after the NLRB issued a complaint against Starbucks for retaliating against her.

'The Union Once Again Cleans Starbucks' Clock': Worker Wins Against Coffee Giant Continue

"Shareholders should be asking why is Starbucks wasting tens of millions of dollars on anti-union lawyers," says Steven Greenhouse, "and why does it anger so many employees by fighting their wish to unionize."

Starbucks union campaign pushes on, with at least 16 stores now organized.

Workers at six more stores in upstate New York have voted to unionize. Starbucks workers have added to the momentum of a union campaign that went public in late August and has upended decades of union-free labor at the company's corporate-owned stores.

Developing . . .