Employees at 2 Minnesota Starbucks locations seek to unionize

Workers at two Starbucks locations in the Twin Cities are seeking to unionize, making them the first in Minnesota to join the nationwide Starbucks Workers United movement.

Why it matters: While over 70 other branches nationwide have filed for elections, only two of roughly 9,000 company-owned stores have been successful.

Of note: Some employees at Starbucks locations that are owned and operated by other companies through licensing agreements have unionized.

State of play: Two Twin Cities locations — Minneapolis' 4712 Cedar Ave. and St. Paul's 300 Snelling Ave. — had an "overwhelming majority" of hourly workers sign union authorization cards to qualify for an official vote, according to Workers United.

What they're saying: "We work in the midst of an ongoing global health crisis and see little to no support … and repeated apathy towards employees," staff at the Snelling Ave. location wrote in a letter to Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson.

• Starbucks didn't immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

What to watch: Should the locations collect enough union authorization cards, the National Labor Relations Board could hold an election for workers to vote on the issue.