We are loathe to continually write about unionizing within the QSR industry, but it’s imperative that franchisees are aware and well-informed of this growing threat. As you know, Starbucks has replaced McDonald’s as the poster child for unionizing individual fast food stores and it is now looking at union representation elections in as many as 60 different locations across 19 states (and growing daily by leaps and bounds)! As an example, baristas at an additional 15 individual Starbucks locations filed for union representation elections with the National Labor Relations Board just this past Monday alone. At the same time, voting is ongoing at a Mesa Arizona store (with votes set to be tallied by NLRB on February 16) and baristas at three more Buffalo-area stores began formal voting this past Monday, January 31. Collective bargaining sessions are already underway at the two Buffalo-area stores that initially unionized.