Last October, Starbucks closed two stores in Buffalo —one temporarily—after baristas in those stores were among the very first in the nation to petition for a union vote. More recently, Starbucks announced 16 store closings, purportedly for "safety reasons ," but the union says at least 11 of the recently closed stores have unionized, which has convinced many workers that this was yet another ploy to frighten them from unionizing —and from even complaining about safety issues. Starbucks had an excellent mentor on such policies: Walmart permanently closed the very first Walmart store to unionize in North America, in Jonquière, Québec, after the retailer and union deadlocked in contract talks and Walmart suddenly said the store's financial situation was precarious.