Starbucks Arizona Union Election Ordered by U.S. Labor Board (2)

A U.S. labor official granted a request by Arizona workers at Starbucks Corp. to hold an election that could expand the new unionized foothold at the retail coffee chain, rejecting the company’s arguments against holding store-by-store votes.

In a Friday ruling, the National Labor Relations Board’s regional director ordered that ballots be mailed out Jan. 14 to employees at a store in Mesa, Arizona, who will have until Jan. 28th to return them.

The regional director wrote that “given the lack of centralized control and employee interchange” among stores, the labor board didn’t need to depart from its standard ...