Members of Starbucks Workers United picket outside a Starbucks store in Chicago, Illinois, USA, on Friday, December 20, 2024.
Vicente Albán | Bloomberg | fake images
starbucks Baristas in some locations are planning to strike until Christmas Eve, starting with cafes in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle on Friday.
Strikes will intensify each day and cover new markets, as Starbucks Workers United pushes to improve barista wages. Starbucks is “backtracking on the promised path,” the union said in a post on X announcing the strikes.
The strike could mean longer waits for holiday drinks and popular Starbucks products in the days before Christmas, when many Americans will be out of work or school or shopping for last-minute gifts.
Relations between the company and the union have turned frosty again, after a thaw earlier this year. In late February, both sides agreed to work together on a “fundamental framework” that would include a process for reaching collective bargaining agreements for individual stores. Since then, they have held more than nine trading sessions over 20 days, according to Starbucks.
Earlier this week, Starbucks and the union met for the last scheduled bargaining session of the year. But before the meeting, Starbucks Workers United baristas voted to authorize a strike if the coffee giant did not propose a comprehensive package addressing wages and other benefits.
In the bargaining session, Starbucks did not propose any immediate pay increases and only guaranteed 1.5% annual pay increases in the future, the union said.
Starbucks said in a statement that Workers United prematurely ended the bargaining session this week.
“We are willing to continue negotiations to reach agreements. We need the union to return to the table,” the company stated.
The union requested an immediate 64% increase in hourly employees' wages and a 77% pay increase over the life of a three-year contract, according to Starbucks.
“This is not sustainable,” the company said in a statement.
Members of Starbucks Workers United picket outside a Starbucks store in Chicago, Illinois, USA, on Friday, December 20, 2024.
Vicente Albán | Bloomberg | fake images
It's been a tough year for Starbucks. Globally and in the United States, its sales have declined as consumers look elsewhere for their caffeine fix. As a result of falling sales, baristas will receive a smaller annual salary increase next year than in previous years.
Starbucks Workers United represents more than 500 company-owned Starbucks locations.
Starbucks baristas aren't the only workers on strike during the last-minute holiday rush. Amazon Workers at seven facilities went on strike Thursday to pressure the e-commerce giant to come to the negotiating table.
