INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Hourly workers at the Starbucks on Massachusetts Avenue voted to unionize on Wednesday, becoming the first store in Indianapolis to do so.

The Mass. Ave. location is part of a group of 15 locations across the country that made moves to join Starbucks Workers United in July. According to the union’s website, it represents more than 470 stores across the country and over 10,500 employees.

Morgan Wilson, a shift supervisor, has worked at the Mass. Ave. Starbucks for a little less than a year now. She was part of the committee that led the store’s union campaign.

Wilson says there hasn’t been a better time than now for employees to unionize. “I think everyone is just super excited for our next steps,” she said.

The baristas and shift supervisors at the store still have a couple of hurdles to overcome. First, the National Labor Relations Board — the federal agency in charge of union elections — still has to certify the vote. It’s mostly a procedural step.

However, they still need to meet Starbucks at the bargaining table to negotiate a contract. In the three years the union has been around, it has not been able to come to an agreement with the company.

Despite the hurdles, Wilson hopes the vote continues a growing movement in Indiana.

“I really want to inspire other stores in Indianapolis to do the same thing as well,” Wilson said. “I would love to lend a helping hand”

According to Wilson, the union workers at the Mass. Ave. Starbucks aren’t making wages their top priority. Instead, they have three other demands.

First, they want more consistent guaranteed hours.

The company considers the store to have a high number of security incidents. So, they want the company to provide security personnel.

Finally, they don’t want to have to pay to park just to go to work.

Wilson says she and her coworkers like their jobs, and want to make it a better workplace.

“Starbucks is one of the only jobs where it’s very queer-friendly,” Wilson said. “We have a lot of trans workers, they can’t go to other companies because they won’t be respected.”

Starbucks declined an interview with News 8 about the union election.

In a statement, spokesperson Jay Go Guasch says the company wants to continue improving for all its workers — which it calls partners.

“At Starbucks, we believe that our direct relationship as partners is core to the experiences we create in our stores,” Guasch wrote. “We respect our partners’ 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 to all Starbucks partners.”

In a letter to Workers United in December 2023, Starbucks Chief Partner Officer Sara Kelly told the union that the company wants to have a contract approved sometime this year.

It’s a move that signifies a real shift in how the company has dealt with the union.

“I think we are pumped,” Wilson said. “Hopefully there is some real positive change happening.”

Once the vote is certified, the Mass. Ave. Starbucks will be the 8th in Indiana to unionize. That includes two shops in Plainfield that voted to form a union in January.