Lattes and labor: Starbucks should see union vote not as a defeat, but opportunity to let workers make decision that’s right for them

With a vote of 19-8, workers at a Starbucks in Buffalo have officially become the first U.S. employees in the global coffee shop behemoth to form a union. The victory must have been all the sweeter after federal labor officials permitted three locations to vote separately, rejecting the company’s effort to force all 20 cafes around Buffalo to hold a single vote.