Starbucks just got closer to having its first unionized store in the US

• The NLRB just decided that three Starbucks locations in New York can vote separately on a union.
• Starbucks argued for a 20 store bargaining unit.

Starbucks may soon have its first unionized store in the US after organizing workers in the Buffalo, New York area just received favorable news from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

The government agency decided that each of the three Buffalo area stores that filed for a union vote will be allowed to vote in separate elections. Starbucks argued that the eligible units should contain at least 20 stores around Buffalo, while the organization of workers, Starbucks Workers United, argued that each location was its own individual unit.

The NLRB cited Starbucks store managers' authority in hiring, training, and directing employees as reasons to keep the bargaining units separate. Individual units are the standard unless the employer can convince the board otherwise. In this case, Starbucks "failed to sustain its burden to overcome the single-facility presumption," according to the NLRB ruling viewed by Insider.

"Our success - past, present, and future - is built on how we partner together and lift each other up, always with Our Mission and Values at our core. Our storied success has come from our working directly together as partners, without a third party between us," Starbucks told Insider in a statement. "We remain focused on supporting our partners as well as maintaining open, transparent, and direct conversations throughout the process. We just received the ruling, and we are evaluating our options."

It's not uncommon for companies to argue that bargaining units should be expanded.

"It is a very old tactic for employers to argue that the bargaining unit must be bigger than what the union has petitioned for. The reason employers tend to prefer larger units is that they are usually more difficult for unions to organize," Michael C. Duff, a professor at the University of Wyoming School of Law, told Insider. "Over the years employers have had an uphill battle resisting the establishment of single-store units," though they still push to expand the units, he said.

Starbucks workers in Buffalo first announced their plans to unionize in late August. Workers said chronic understaffing, along with long waits for customers and product shortages, pushed them to organize this year. Organizers told Insider that they hoped to eventually represent all 20 stores in the Buffalo area. Five stores filed for a union vote, then two withdrew, leaving the three that were just decided on by the NLRB.

The vote will be conducted through mail-in ballots, sent out on November 10. A ballot count will take place on December 9 to determine whether workers voted in favor of the first Starbucks union in the US.

Do you have a story to share about a retail or restaurant chain? Email this reporter at mmeisenzahl@businessinsider.com.