For Starbucks Workers, N.Y. Union’s Contract Push Marks Lodestar

Newly unionized workers at a Starbucks Corp. store in Buffalo, N.Y., have an immense opportunity to influence the iconic coffee company as the sides prepare to negotiate the chain’s first U.S. labor agreement.

But the coming talks also carry enormous pressure for the union, as a bargaining unit of just 36 eligible workers tries to win concessions from a multinational brand that could sway organizing drives brewing in other parts of the Starbucks empire.

After winning recognition from Starbucks this week, the labor group now faces the far tougher task of reaching an inaugural collective bargaining agreement, a legally binding ...