Staff at the Starbucks at Waterville Commons in Waterville, which has been closed since the end of October for renovations, recently filed a petition to unionize. Amy Calder/ Morning Sentinel

WATERVILLE — Staff at the Starbucks coffee shop on Waterville Commons Drive have filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to unionize.

With that election filing, the baristas seek to  join peers at more than 520 locations across the U.S. working together to win workplace protections on core issues including respect, living wages, racial and gender equality, and fair scheduling, according to a statement they issued Thursday.

“I’m excited to be joining the union along with my fellow partners, being a part of something that has had so much hard work put into it is a really amazing thing,” Evelyn Fennell, a shift supervisor for the last year at the Waterville shop, said in the release. “I have so much love for our store and its partners, so now joining the union and being able to make our store a better place to work for everyone is really wonderful. I look forward to working hard with our union to ensure that all partners can feel heard, appreciated, and taken seriously.”

The Waterville Starbucks staff said the election filing Thursday comes during one of the busiest times of the year for baristas as the company launches its popular holiday drink menu and continues the annual Red Cup promotion, which typically draw a flood of customers and an influx of orders.

“I’m honored to be a part of this labor movement and will continue to be so that everyone who has put on the green apron has a shot at living a dignified and comfortable life,” said Jacob Warren, a Waterville shift supervisor for seven years. “Now that we’re able to work with our union, we are grateful to be able to open more direct channels of communication with the folks higher up so that we can all keep serving the community in Waterville.”

The Waterville baristas join a growing movement of workers nationwide seeking voices at the company.

Starbucks Workers United has won union elections across the country, with more than 500 stores now represented, according to the statement. In recent weeks, workers have voted to join that union in states including California, Utah, Missouri and Louisiana.

Workers launched the unionization effort in 2021. The movement has been roundly opposed by company officials.

Baristas at the Biddeford Starbucks in 2022 were the first in Maine to file a petition to unionize. In October of that year, workers at the Starbucks in the Old Port in Portland filed a petition; a month later, the company closed the store, citing renovations to its building.

A notice posted at the Starbucks in Waterville Commons says the location has been closed since the end of October. Baristas at the coffee shop have signaled their intent to form a union. Amy Calder/Morning Sentinel

In the aftermath, the National Labor Relations Board accused Starbucks of closing the Old Port location and 22 others across the country in order to prevent employees from unionizing.

In a similar situation, Chipotle Mexican Grill was ordered last year to pay workers at its former Augusta location $240,000 as part of a settlement.

The agreement came after the National Labor Relations Board found the American chain of restaurants serving Mexican fast food had violated labor laws by closing its location at Marketplace at Augusta weeks after employees became the first in the country to file for union recognition, and by blacklisting a worker who sought employment at one of the company’s other locations in Maine.

As part of the agreement, 24 workers who were on the payroll when Chipotle closed its store at the Marketplace in 2022 were to receive between $5,800 and $21,000 depending on the number of hours they worked and their pay rate, among other factors.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court sided with Starbucks in a case, raising the standards for when a federal court can intervene to protect unionizing workers.

The Waterville Starbucks has been closed several weeks for renovations.

Contacted for comment Friday, Starbucks spokesman Phil Gee said: “At Starbucks we believe that our direct relationship as partners is core to the experiences we create in our stores, and we respect our partners (sic) rights to have a choice on the topic of unions. We are committed to delivering on our promise to offer a bridge to a better future for all Starbucks partners.”