Written by AP Business Writer DEE-ANN DURBIN
Starbucks employees are to begin a five-day walkout on Friday in protest of the company’s lack of progress in contract negotiations.
By Christmas Eve, hundreds of businesses nationwide may be affected by the strikes, which are expected to start in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Seattle.
Starbucks has not fulfilled a February pledge to achieve a labor agreement this year, according to Starbucks Workers United, the union that has organized employees at 535 company-owned U.S. locations since 2021. Additionally, the union wants the business to settle unresolved legal matters, such as hundreds of unfair labor practice complaints that employees have submitted to the National Labor Relations Board.
Brian Niccol, who took over as Chairman and CEO of Starbucks in September, has the potential to earn over $100 million in his first year of employment, according to the union. However, according to the union, the business just put out an economic proposal that would give unionized baristas a 1.5% raise in subsequent years but no new salary increases at this time.
According to Workers United president Lynne Fox, union baristas are aware of their worth and will not accept a proposal that does not treat them as genuine partners.
Starbucks, based in Seattle, claimed that Workers United ended a bargaining session early this week. In the United States, Starbucks operates almost 10,000 company-owned locations.
We’re prepared to keep negotiating in order to get to an agreement. In a statement, Starbucks stated that the union must be brought back to the table.
According to Starbucks, baristas who put in at least 20 hours a week are already eligible for salary and benefits including free college tuition and paid family leave, which is worth $30 per hour.
During Starbucks’ hectic holiday season, these strikes are not the first. On Red Cup Day in November 2023, when the company typically distributes thousands of reusable cups, thousands of employees at more than 200 stores went on strike. Additionally, hundreds of workers protested by going on strike in June 2023 when the union claimed that Starbucks had prohibited Pride displays at certain locations.
When the union and the firm went back to the negotiating table early this year and promised to come to an agreement, the tone changed. According to Starbucks, it has negotiated more than 30 agreements with the union and has participated in nine negotiation sessions since April.
However, it now seems like the two sides are at a standstill.
Fatemeh Alhadjaboodi, a Texas Starbucks barista and negotiation delegate, said in a statement that the firm has failed to offer the baristas who manage its business a sustainable economic plan in a year when it has spent millions on top executive talent.
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