The Starbucks located on Middle Street in Portland is reportedly closing after employees at that location voted to form a union in October.
Starbucks has chosen to close the location, according to a tweet by Starbucks Workers United Maine, which represents unionized members of the Biddeford and Portland Starbucks. The current employees reportedly have one month before the location will be closing.
Employees at the Starbucks location between Middle and Exchange Street voted to unionize by a 10-3 vote on Oct. 17. In July, Starbucks workers in Biddeford voted to unionize, in part due to what they felt was inconsistent scheduling and low pay.
A Starbucks spokesperson was not immediately available to comment Tuesday evening.
During the Biddeford store’s effort to unionize, a Starbucks spokesperson said in a statement that, “From the beginning, we’ve been clear in our belief that we are better together as partners, without a union between us, and that conviction has not changed. We respect our partner’s right to organize.”
The reported closure comes after Chipotle was accused of illegally closing its Augusta location after its workers voted to unionize in June. The store closed in July, claiming it had been “unable to adequately staff this remote restaurant” and that they had gone to “extraordinary lengths” to recruit new workers to no avail.
An official leading the top federal labor agency’s Boston office in November claimed that the fast-casual chain had “closed its Augusta store and terminated the employees there because they had supported and assisted the union and engaged in concerted activities.”
