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UPDATE: Starbucks Strikes Expand to a Dozen Cities, with Escalations Planned Through Christmas Eve

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[Update as of Dec. 23, 2024] The barista strikes at Starbucks locations have spread to a dozen cities, according to the Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) union. Workers are striking in Boston, Dallas-Ft. Worth and Portland, Ore. as well as Chicago; Columbus, Ohio; Denver; Los Angeles; New York City; Pittsburgh; Philadelphia; Seattle; and St. Louis, Mo. The ULP [unfair labor practices] strikes shut down nearly 50 stores on Sunday, Dec. 22 across several metro areas. Elected officials joined the picket lines in Pittsburgh, where Mayor Ed Gainey showed his solidarity, as did NYC Comptroller Brad Lander in the Big Apple.

“We were ready to bring the foundational framework home this year, but Starbucks wasn’t,” said Lynne Fox, President of Workers United in a statement.“ After all Starbucks has said about how they value partners throughout the system, we refuse to accept zero immediate investment in baristas’ wages and no resolution of the hundreds of outstanding unfair labor practices. Union baristas know their value, and they’re not going to accept a proposal that doesn’t treat them as true partners.”

[Update as of Dec. 20, 2024] The Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) union has followed through on its strike authorization, with baristas at Starbucks cafés in Los Angeles, Chicago and the retailer’s hometown of Seattle starting “five days of escalating ULP [unfair labor practices] strikes in response to the company backtracking on our promised path forward,” according to an SBWU post on X. The strikes are scheduled to continue through Christmas Eve, and the SBWU plans to escalate them into new markets each day.

Starbucks downplayed the impact of the strikes: “There has been no significant impact to our store operations,” said Phil Gee, a spokesperson for Starbucks in comments provided to Retail TouchPoints. “We are aware of disruption at a small handful of stores, but the overwhelming majority of our U.S. stores remain open and serving customers as normal.”

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In a statement provided to CNBC, a Starbucks spokesperson said that the union had prematurely ended the bargaining session this week: “We are ready to continue negotiations to reach agreements. We need the union to return to the table.”

According to Starbucks, “Workers United proposals call for an immediate increase in the minimum wage of hourly partners by 64%, and by 77% over the life of a three-year year contract. This is not sustainable.”

Like the Amazon strikes by the Teamsters Union that began on Dec. 19, the timing of the labor action is strategic, coming at one of the busiest times of the year for all retail categories. At press time Starbucks had not responded to a request for comment.

Original story from Dec. 18, 2024 begins-

The Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) union has authorized a strike against the coffee giant just prior to the final contract negotiation session in 2024, scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 19. According to an Instagram post, “98% of SBWU baristas voted to authorize a ULP [unfair labor practices] strike, if necessary.”

This ramp-up in rhetoric comes at the end of a year when it seemed that Starbucks and the union, which claims to represent more than 500 stores and 10,500 workers, seemed to be moving toward a more productive working relationship. In September 2024 Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said in a letter that he “deeply respects” workers’ right to unionize, following the April 2024 news that the company and the union had made “significant progress” in contract bargaining.

Starbucks also pointed to the progress that has been made in 2024: “It is disappointing that the union is considering a strike rather than focusing on what have been extremely productive negotiations,” said Starbucks spokesperson Phil Gee in comments provided to Retail TouchPoints. “Since April we’ve scheduled and attended more than eight multi-day bargaining sessions where we’ve reached 30 meaningful agreements on dozens of topics Workers United delegates told us were important to them, including many economic issues.”

In fact, 2024 has marked a significant contrast with 2023, when in June the union launched strikes at more than 150 stores to protest alleged restrictions on placing LGBTQ+ Pride decorations in cafés. In November 2023 the union also planned a “Red Cup Rebellion” labor action.

The new SBWU strike threat comes just days after the Teamsters union authorized strikes at three Amazon distribution centers. Amazon has had a contentious relationship with the Teamsters and has strongly resisted organizing efforts among its labor force around the country.

Starbucks recently more than doubled parental leave periods and has repeatedly stressed the value of the benefits it offers to its workers. “We remain committed to working together and committed to reaching a final framework agreement,” said Gee. “This is our goal. If the delegates want to serve the partners they represent, they need to continue the work of negotiating an agreement.”

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