Starbucks baristas to strike Friday in LA, other cities

By Daniela Sirtori | Bloomberg

The union representing Starbucks baristas plans to go on strike for five days from Friday after a final-stage bargaining session reached an impasse, the group said.

Starbucks Workers United said its members are planning to walk out in unionized stores across Los Angeles, Chicago, and Seattle.

The union, which represents employees at more than 500 of Starbucks’ US 10,000 company-operated stores, said workers decided to go on strike after the coffee chain presented a package that offered no immediate raises for baristas in the union.

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

This is the first strike since at least February, when Starbucks and the union agreed to restart talks. There have been many 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.

Starbucks didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment after business hours. Earlier this week, the company said it remains committed to reaching a final agreement.

“It is disappointing that the union is considering a strike rather than focusing on what have been extremely productive negotiations,” the company said in a statement on Dec. 17 after the union announced that baristas had authorized a strike. “If the delegates want to serve the partners they represent, they need to continue the work of negotiating.”