Starbucks Workers Strike In 3 Cities, Threaten More Walkouts By Christmas Eve
HuffPost
A union representing workers at over 500 stores is closing in on a deal with the coffee chain, but the two sides are at odds over pay.
Unionized Starbucks workers went on strike in three cities Friday and threatened to expand their walkouts to additional markets in the run-up to Christmas.
Their union, Starbucks Workers United, said the strikes were timed to coincide with Starbucks’ busiest stretch of the year, and could spread to hundreds of stores by Tuesday — Christmas Eve — if the two sides don’t make progress in contract talks.
The union accused the coffee chain of “backtracking” on its commitment to reach a framework for a national deal for the more than 500 stores that have organized since 2021. Not one of the stores has secured a first contract yet.
“In a year when Starbucks invested so many millions in top executive talent, it has failed to present the baristas who make its company run with a viable economic proposal,” Fatemeh Alhadjaboodi, a Texas worker involved in negotiations, said in a statement through the union.
Andrew Trull, a Starbucks spokesperson, said in an email that the company and the union had reached tentative agreements on 30 matters over the course of bargaining since April. Trull said the union’s delegates “prematurely ended” negotiations this week ahead of the strikes.
