ENCINITAS, Calif. — Workers at a Starbucks in Encinitas have voted to unionize, becoming the first store in San Diego County to join nationwide efforts to better working conditions at the coffee franchise.

The vote to unionize the Starbucks, located right off the Interstate 5 near Leucadia Boulevard, took place Friday — a little over a month after the process was initiated by a petition filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

All full-time and part-time baristas and shift supervisors at the branch participated in the vote. Of the 28 eligible voters, 21 voted in favor of unionization and two voted against it.

“It feels amazing to see what we’ve been working so hard for come to fruition. We feel like we’re finally getting our own voice,” baristas and labor organizers at the store, Alina Stangeland and Denika Brown, said in a press release Monday.

In the release, Workers United cited grievances like Starbucks’ hour cuts, inadequate staffing, disregard for safety and refusal to engage in good faith negotiations with the workers’ labor group.

Starbucks spokesperson Andrew Trull refuted some of the allegations in a statement to FOX 5. Specifically addressing hour cuts, he said that schedule changes are a long-standing business practice of the company to reflect seasonal fluctuations in customer demands.

“Partner work schedules are published on a regular, rolling basis three-weeks in advance and are built based on recorded partner availability and the unique operational needs of each store,” Trull said.

With the successful union vote, the Encinitas store has become the 24th Starbucks location in California to exercise collective bargaining rights since nationwide efforts spearheaded by the labor group, Starbucks Workers United, began in December 2021.

Across the country, more than 300 of the company’s 9,000 domestic stores have established a union, according to Starbucks Workers United.

Over 80 complaints against Starbucks have also been filed since efforts began, with multiple federal courts and NLRB judges finding the company liable for hundreds of labor law violations. Among those violations are the firing of labor organizers and illegal closing of unionized stores.

During a Senate hearing earlier this month, however, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz insisted that the coffee chain has not broken labor laws and is willing to bargain with unionized workers. He said Starbucks would also be working to the appeal charges against the company.

“We respect the right of all partners to make their own decisions about union representation, and we are committed to engaging in good faith collective bargaining for each store where a union has been appropriately certified,” Trull said.

The next step for unionization at the store will be for the NLRB to certify the election, according to Trull. Workers United will then have to identify a representative for the store and send the company a initial bargaining demand, which could initiate contract negotiation processes.

Starbucks Workers United has yet to reach a contract agreement with the company at any of the unionized stores.

According to the company, Starbucks has proposed more than 425 single-store bargaining sessions. They have appeared at more than 105 of these negotiations to-date.

Hull said that the company is making progress in bargaining sessions with union representatives in Seattle, Richmond, Greensburg, Pittsburgh, Knoxville and Albany. 25 additional meetings have been proposed through the end of June.

Three more California stores are set to vote on unionization in the coming months, including one in Indio and two in San Jose.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.