The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rejected a proposal by Starbucks to have a proposed union representation election cover all of its 20 stores in the Buffalo market and instead ordered a representation election for just three stores. The NLRB ruling provides that the election will be held via mail-in ballots between November 10 and December 8, with the final ballots being counted by the agency on December 9. There are approximately 128 employees in the three stores, many of whom have been involved in Starbucks Workers United, which is backed by Workers United, an affiliate of SEIU (the Service Employees International Union) and was formed to push the Starbucks unionization issue in Buffalo.