Starbucks union workers said they are going on strike Friday through Christmas Eve. File Photo by Billie Jean Shaw/UPI
Starbucks baristas launched a strike starting Friday in three major cities with the union citing stalled labor negotiations with the company.
Starbucks Workers United said on X that baristas in Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle will strike for five days through Christmas Eve, noting that it could spread nationally. Advertisement
“Starbucks baristas are going on five days of escalating ULP [unfair labor practices] strikes in response to the company backtracking on our promised path forward, starting tomorrow in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle, and soon from coast-to-coast,” said a statement from
“Since February, Starbucks has repeatedly pledged publicly that they intended to reach contracts by the end of the year, but they’ve yet to present workers with a serious economic proposal.”
The union, which represents 525 locations, accused Starbucks of not offering an immediate wage increase for union workers and a guarantee of a 1.5% wage increase in future years.
Union workers said Starbucks management had promised in February to present a “foundation framework” to it so the two can reach a collective bargaining agreement but that never happened.
Starbucks pushed back, charging it was the union that “prematurely ended” a bargaining session with it this week. Starbucks said it has offered an average $18 per hour wage with health care and other benefits, free college tuition, and family leave. Advertisement
On Thursday, Amazon workers who are part of the Teamsters in New York City, Atlanta, Southern California, San Francisco and Skokie, Ill. went on strike. Teamsters claimed that nearly 10,000 workers are striking for better pay, benefits, and working conditions.
