First time ever: 5 Starbucks stores in Ontario unionize [Video]

The United Steelworkers union says workers at five Starbucks locations in Ontario have ratified their first collective agreements.

The union says the union-led contracts are a significant milestone in the push for collective bargaining at the coffee giant.

Locations include shops in Ajax, Kitchener-Waterloo and Toronto.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Union drives at Starbucks in Canada have had a bumpy road, including the company closing its only unionized shop in Vancouver in 2023.

The United Steelworkers Local 2009 made a complaint on that move, as well as for company threats against an employee for her unionization activity at a shop in Langley, B.C.

In February, the B.C. Labour Relations Board found the company had legitimate reasons to shut down the Vancouver location but found Starbucks wrongfully made “threats of adverse consequences” against the union-supporting employee.

In the U.S., Starbucks Workers United’s unionization push has grown from its first successful drive in …