A rally will be held Thursday to show support for workers at the first Central Valley Starbucks location to begin the process of unionizing.

Members of the Fresno-Madera Central Labor Council and other labor groups will hold the rally outside the Starbucks at Herndon and Marks avenues “to show support for the workers and to call on Starbucks to stop retaliating against union leaders,” according to aLabor Council news release.

The rally on Thursday takes place outside 7010 N. Marks Ave. starting at 11 a.m.

The Business Journal first reported last month that team members at the Northwest Fresno Starbucks penned a letter to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz laying out there reasons for unionizing — the first location in the Central Valley to do so, according to the news release.

After sword attack, workers at Fresno Starbucks store intend to unionize

Starbucks workers at more than 240 stores nationwide have filed for an election, with 19 of those stores in California — including the Herndon and Marks location, where an election has yet to be scheduled.

Workers at the store are calling for greater compensation, staffing and regard from management. Last year, the store was the site of a sword attack that left one person in the hospital.

Labor leaders allege Starbucks is retaliating against employees looking to organize. The National labor Relations Board in Buffalo, New York filed a complaint on Friday, accusing Starbucks of unfair labor practices at its stores there, including retaliation against pro-union employees.

The coffee chain told the Associated Pres that the allegations “false” and vowed to fight them at an upcoming hearing.

“Starbucks does not agree that the claims have merit, and the complaint’s issuance does not constitute a finding by the NLRB,” spokesman Reggie Borges wrote in an email. “It is the beginning of a litigation process that permits both sides to be heard and to present evidence.”