In 2022, a unionization effort at a Starbucks location in Mililani was unsuccessful. However, Starbucks United Workers, a national organization, has continued to push for unionization at various Starbucks locations throughout the United States. This aligns with a trend of unionization efforts across multiple sectors, including the automotive industry in the southern states.

While previous unionization efforts in southern automotive plants have been unsuccessful, the United Auto Workers (UAW) has pledged $40 million over two years to organize several plants in the region and have begun to see results. On April 21st, a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee, which had failed to unionize in prior attempts, voted to be unionized and represented by UAW. Other unionization efforts are at plant is a Mercedes plant in Alabama, whose vote on unionization will conclude on May 17th. This marks a significant step in the push for unionization in the southern states.

HEC will provide an update on union petitions filed in Hawaii later this year, giving a better feel for union organizing activity locally. With ongoing efforts to unionize across various industries and locations, labor has a lot of momentum in organizing.