Another Starbucks in Fairfax County has unionized.
Baristas at the coffee giant’s Barcroft Plaza store in Lincolnia voted 9-6 yesterday (Tuesday) to join Starbucks Workers United, an affiliate of the labor union Workers United that now represents more than 12,000 Starbucks workers at over 700 locations across the U.S.
“We determined that organizing a collective bargaining unit is the only viable, long-term solution to protect ourselves, fix scheduling issues, and create fairness in our workplace,” said Sofi Gurshman, who has been working as a barista at the Barcroft Plaza location since 2024. “With a union, we can win these things and more, and we’re excited to connect and grow community with other union baristas.”
Workers at Starbucks in Barcroft Plaza (6365 Columbia Pike) filed a petition on May 27 for a union election that was open to 15 employees, including all full and part-time baristas and shift supervisors, but not store managers.
The location, which underwent a renovation in 2023, is the 26th Starbucks in Virginia to unionize, according to Starbucks Workers United.
Workers at Gatehouse Plaza in Merrifield became the first in Fairfax County to join the union in 2022. They have since been followed by stores in Springfield (8408A Old Keene Mill Road), Fairfax (11725 Route 29), Reston’s Plaza America and McLean.
The Reston and McLean stores both petitioned for union representation on Dec. 23 in the midst of a nationwide strike that Starbucks Workers United says “became the longest work stoppage in Starbucks history.” Workers in Reston overwhelmingly favored unionizing with an 11-5 vote on Feb. 11, but the pro-union employees eked out only a narrow 9-8 victory in McLean on Jan. 29.
Starbucks Workers United emerged when baristas at a store in Buffalo, New York voted to form the company’s first union in 2021. Since then, the union has been engaged in halting negotiations for a national labor contract, calling for improved pay and benefits, more stable working conditions, and the resolution of hundreds of alleged labor law violations.
Though Starbucks leaders had at one point pledged to finalize an agreement by the end of 2024, Starbucks Workers United launched a strike on Nov. 13, 2025 after negotiations stalled in late 2024. Coinciding with “Red Cup Day,” a tradition that kicks off the winter holiday season and typically the company’s busiest day of the year, the initial walkout involved approximately 1,000 baristas at 65 stores across the country.
At its height in mid-December, the strike encompassed approximately 215 stores and more than 4,500 workers.
Organizers in Merrifield who joined the picket line on Dec. 4, along with the unionized store in Springfield, expressed frustration with their wages, limited working hours that keep them from qualifying for benefits, and a culture that they said emphasizes speed at the expense of worker safety.
All baristas ultimately returned to work by early 2026, and Starbucks Workers United says it has now secured more than 30 tentative agreements on key issues. However, a number of demands remain unsatisfied, including calls for an increase in the starting pay from $15.25 to $17 per hour, improved hours and staffing, annual raises, and labor protections.
A Starbucks spokesperson said in a statement provided to FFXnow that the company “has continued to bargain in good faith, putting forward comprehensive proposals that build on our competitive pay and industry-leading benefits, which average more than $30 an hour for eligible hourly partners.”
“Throughout negotiations, we have remained focused on reaching agreements that support partners and strengthen the Starbucks experience,” the spokesperson said.
Starbucks Workers United alleges that hourly employees work only 19 hours per week on average, putting them below the 20 hours needed to qualify for benefits. As a result, “many baristas rely on SNAP and Medicaid,” the union said, referring to the federal food benefits and health insurance programs now being drastically reduced.
According to the Starbucks spokesperson, the company receives over 1 million job applications every year and offers “industry-leading pay and benefits.” In early April, the company announced plans to provide performance-based bonuses of up to $1,200, expand tipping options available to customers, and shift to a weekly pay schedule, starting in August.
“These updates will be implemented at non-union stores later this year and, as required by law, are subject to bargaining at the approximately 5% of U.S. stores represented by a union,” the spokesperson said.
The announcement coincided with Starbucks and the union resuming bargaining discussions in April after more than a year away from the table.
