Starbucks Workers United wins in US’s most anti-union city.
By John Logan, Truthout
The Starbucks Workers United union campaign continues to produce astounding election wins week after week. As of this writing, more than 260 stores have petitioned for National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) elections: The union has won more than 70 NLRB elections, most by overwhelming margins, and has lost only nine elections. The union has won elections throughout the country, including in places where union victories are rare, including in Mesa, Arizona; Boone, North Carolina; Jacksonville, Florida; Knoxville, Tennessee; Augusta, Georgia; and Overland Park, Kansas.
Last Monday, workers in Greenville, South Carolina, voted eight to one to become the first unionized store in the state. Greenville has a deserved reputation as being “among the most relentlessly anti-union cities in the nation,” as The New York Times described it in 1977. Starbucks Workers United’s victory there is arguably one of the most remarkable union wins in recent years.

For the past two years, South Carolina has been the least unionized state in the country, and is the only state with a union density under 2 percent: South Carolina’s union density in 2021 was just 1.7 percent. The next lowest state, North Carolina, was 2.6 percent.
Most recent union campaigns in the state have failed: In a campaign that lasted for several years before a defeat in 2017, the machinists union was met with a blistering anti-union campaign inside and outside of Boeing in North Charleston, South Carolina. Then-Republican Gov. Nikki Haley stated, “We discourage any companies that have unions from wanting to come to South Carolina because we don’t want to taint the water.”
Recent Posts
Bad Bunny Destroys MAGA Backlash During SNL: “If You Don’t Understand Me, You Have Four Months To Learn”
October 19, 2025
Take Action Now “All Latinos and Latinas all over the world, and here in the United States, all the people who have worked to open doors. More than…
Senators Launch Bipartisan Bid to Block Trump War on Venezuela
October 18, 2025
Take Action Now “Congress has not authorized military force against Venezuela,” said Sen. Adam Schiff. “And we must assert our authority to stop the…
Democrats Have Let Republicans Become The “Peace” Party
October 17, 2025
Take Action Now The massive disconnect between the Democratic Party’s leadership and its base is sure to have ramifications far beyond last year’s…
‘Textbook Authoritarianism’: Trump Aims IRS Criminal Division At Left-Leaning Groups, Donors
October 16, 2025
Take Action Now Reporting by the Wall Street Journal indicates the active “weaponization” of the agency to target the far-right president’s political…