Starbucks is on the cusp of a major barista strike

• Starbucks' biggest workers union on Tuesday went forward to authorize a nationwide strike.
• It said that the coffee chain had not settled hundreds of unfair labor practice cases.
• Starbucks said that the union considering a strike was "disappointing."

Starbucks Workers United, the coffee chain's largest union, said workers have authorized a nationwide strike.

The union, which represents more than 10,000 baristas, said in statements on Tuesday that 98% of its member baristas had voted to strike. The group was set to meet with Starbucks later that day for a final round of bargaining.

The union told CNBC in a statement that the strike was prompted by hundreds of unfair labor practice cases that Starbucks had not settled. It also said that the company had not brought a sufficiently comprehensive pay package to the bargaining table.

Starbucks, in a statement to CNBC, said that it was "disappointing" that the union was considering a strike "rather than focusing on what have been extremely productive negotiations."

"Since April we've scheduled and attended more than eight multi-day bargaining sessions where we've reached thirty meaningful agreements on dozens of topics Workers United delegates told us were important to them, including many economic issues," the company told CNBC.

Starbucks has 11,161 company-operated stores and 7,263 licensed stores in North America. As of October, 500 — or about 4.5% — of all stores were unionized.

More than 150 unionized stores went on strike in June 2023 to protest what the union called the company's "hypocritical treatment of LGBTQIA+ workers." A Starbucks spokesperson told BI at the time that the union was spreading "false information" about its benefits, policies, and negotiation efforts.

News of the possible union strike comes just a day after CEO Brian Niccol announced a change in the company's parental leave policy for US store employees.

Starting in March, Starbucks will offer up to 18 weeks of paid leave for birth parents and up to 12 weeks for nonbirth parents. The company currently offers US store employees six weeks of paid parental leave and up to 12 weeks unpaid.

The increased benefit will apply to employees averaging at least 20 hours of work a week.

"Our benefit was already the best in retail, but after hearing from some partners who shared the leave as new parents wasn't adequate, we reviewed the program and have decided we're making a change," Niccol wrote in his announcement Monday.

Starbucks had a lackluster fourth quarter. On October 29, it posted a 7% decline in comparable sales from last year, including a 6% drop at its US stores. Sales in China declined 14% in the same period.

Its net revenue was down 3% from last year, to $9.1 billion.

The company's stock is down about 1.7% since the start of the year.

Representatives of Starbucks and Starbucks Workers United did not respond to requests for comment from BI sent outside regular business hours.