Yahoo Finance

For Starbucks (SBUX) Seattle Shift Supervisor Sydney Durkin, the unanimous vote to unionize at the company's hometown location was a symbolic one.

"It's immense, Starbucks's presence in the city is really huge. It really looms over," Durkin told Yahoo Finance Live (video above). "It's one of the largest employers in the city and to really bring it to Starbucks's doorstep is a huge moment. It's letting them know that this movement is not stopping, and it's certainly not stopping at their doorstep."

The Broadway & Denny Starbucks location was the seventh in the country to unionize. The first unionized corporate location occurred in Buffalo, New York, after a highly publicized battle with corporate officials. As of March 24, there are 155 Starbucks union elections that are in process at the Board at the moment and there are 70 unfair labor practice cases open against Starbucks.

Out of 13 eligible voters in a National Labor Relations Board vote held Tuesday, nine Broadway & Denny Starbucks workers voted in favor of the measure, none voted against the measure, and one vote was challenged by the Seattle-based coffee giant's corporate counsel.

"I haven't been at work, but we have received a letter from our regional vice president basically saying, 'Oh, thanks for voting, sorry that you voted for that way, that's really sad,'" Durkin said. "They're very like 'Oh, we're sorry for you for voting this way,' but otherwise they've kind of left us alone. They haven't said anything really direct. We expect there to be further response here in the next few days though."

Now that the store is unionized, the workers will need to negotiate with the company for a contract. Durkin said there are a few things that will be brought to the table.

"One of the first things we're bargaining for is just for them to agree to stop union busting, to sign the fair view principles," Durkin explained, adding: "We don't expect them to do that."

Another pain point is the tipping system.

"We are looking for credit card tipping without loss of wages," Durkin said. "Currently, we do not allow credit card tipping, which is how most people pay, which is a large loss of wages for us."

Digital tipping is available for customers who are using a credit card that's saved on the Starbucks app, according to a Starbucks spokesperson. Customers have the option to tip when they are placing an order ahead of time and can also tip with cash when they pick up their order from the store or drive-through.