Starbucks Workers Strike in Handful of Cafes During Holiday Rush

The union representing Starbucks Corp. baristas went on strike on Friday morning at a limited number of locations in three US cities after a final-stage bargaining session reached an impasse.

Starbucks Workers United members are planning to picket at stores in Chicago, Seattle and Los Angeles. The union, which represents employees at more than 500 of Starbucks’ company-operated stores in the US, said workers opted to strike after the coffee chain presented a package that offered no immediate raises for baristas in the union.

In a statement, Starbucks said that the union “prematurely ended” the bargaining session this week and it’s ready to continue talks. “We need the union to return to the table,” the company said. In an email, a company representative said it’s a small set of stores on strike and for the most part US locations are operating as normal.

Starbucks hired Brian Niccol, a veteran of Taco Bell and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., as its chief executive officer earlier this year to revive sagging sales. He has pledged to negotiate in good faith with the union. Since he took over in September, the stock has declined about 4%, compared with a 9% gain for the S&P 500 Index.

At the same time, workers have said that many locations aren’t adequately staffed and that a flood of mobile orders for complicated beverages has made their jobs increasingly complex. Starbucks says that it’s focused on improving the worker experience, and that pay and benefits for baristas working at least 20 hours a week are worth $30 an hour on average.

Related: Starbucks Gives Baristas Smaller Pay Raises After Tough Year

Workers at a location in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood went on strike at 6 a.m. on Friday. The plan is to continue striking until Christmas Day, they said. The store was closed, with a sign on the store’s entrance reading: “We are striking to win fair raises, benefits and improved staffing and to protest all unremedied unfair labor practices.”

The union said the work stoppage was timed to hit the coffee chain during one of its busiest times of year. It’s not just drinks that are being ordered: Last January, company executives said the company had the highest sales of gift cards in its history over the quarter including the holiday period, with $3.6 billion of pre-loaded cards purchased.

“Our goal is to be compensated fairly for our work and get back to work to continue serving our customers,” RJ Simandl, a shift supervisor at the Edgewater location, said in an interview. Simandl, who has been with the company for about three years, said five additional unionized stores in Chicago are going on strike Friday.

Outside the store, 10 Starbucks workers lined up in 35-degree weather playing music and holding posters. “No contract, no coffee,” one poster read. “Please, Mr. Scrooge — give us a living wage,” another read.

Simandl said that some customers told them they would get their coffee elsewhere. The store is one of three “anchor” locations where the union is planning pickets Friday.

A different Starbucks nearby, which isn’t part of the strike, appeared to be operating normally, with four customers in the store and others going in and out.

Starbucks and its union have been locked in a battle since December 2021, when the first store organized seeking better pay, schedules and hours.

Read More: Starbucks Union Approves Strike Ahead of Final Bargaining

This is the first strike since at least February, when Starbucks and the union agreed to restart talks. There have been a number of high-profile strikes in previous years, including one last November on the company’s Red Cup Day when Starbucks gives out its holiday-themed reusable cups.

The union said it expects the strikes to spread to hundreds of stores by Christmas Eve.

During talks this year, the two parties have reached “meaningful agreements” on more than 30 issues that matter to workers, including economic demands, the company said.

(Updates with quotes from striking workers and information from the company)

--With assistance from Anne Cronin.

To contact the reporters on this story:
Daniela Sirtori in Chicago at dsirtoricort@bloomberg.net;
Jaewon Kang in Chicago at jkang351@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Emily Cohn at ecohn24@bloomberg.net

Jonathan Roeder, Tonya Garcia

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