Union members and supporters of the Starbucks Workers United are on the picket line outside a Starbucks coffee shop on Thursday, November 16, 2023 in New York, USA.
Victor J. Blue | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Starbucks Baristas in some places are planning to go on strike on Christmas Eve, starting Friday at coffee shops in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle.
The strike is escalating every day, covering new markets, as the Starbucks union works to raise barista wages. Union says Starbucks is “backtracking on the path we promised to move forward” said in the post X declares a strike.
The shutdowns could mean longer waits for holiday drinks and popular Starbucks merchandise in the days leading up to Christmas, when many Americans will be off work and school, or shopping for last-minute gifts.
Relations between the company and unions have become frosty again after thawing earlier this year. In late February, the two sides agreed to work together to develop a “basic framework” that would include procedures for reaching collective bargaining agreements for individual stores. Since then, they have held more than nine bargaining meetings in 20 days, according to Starbucks.
Earlier this week, Starbucks and the union held their last scheduled bargaining meeting of the year. But ahead of the meeting, baristas from the Starbucks Workers Union voted to authorize a strike if the coffee giant doesn’t come up with a comprehensive plan to address pay and other benefits issues.
The union said that during the negotiation meeting, Starbucks proposed no immediate salary increase and only guaranteed a 1.5% annual salary increase in the future.
Starbucks said in a statement that the workers’ union ended this week’s bargaining session early.
“We are prepared to continue negotiations to reach an agreement. We need the unions to return to the bargaining table,” the company said.
The Starbucks Workers United represents more than 500 Starbucks stores.
Starbucks baristas aren’t the only workers to go on strike at the last minute during the holiday rush. Amazon Workers at seven factories went on strike on Thursday to put pressure on the e-commerce giant to return to the negotiating table.
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