Some members of the Starbucks The SBUX.O workers union, which represents more than 10,000 baristas, walked out in several U.S. cities on Friday, citing unresolved issues over wages, staffing and hours.
The five-day strike, which began Friday and resulted in the closure of Starbucks coffee shops in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle, will extend to Columbus, Denver and Pittsburgh through Saturday, the union said in a statement.
It is the latest in a series of industrial action that has accelerated in the service sector following a period in which workers at manufacturers in the auto, aerospace and rail sectors have obtained substantial concessions from employers.
At Starbucks, the Workers United union, which represents employees at 525 stores across the United States, said Thursday evening that walkouts would intensify daily and could reach “hundreds of stores” nationwide by Christmas Eve.
“An estimated 10 out of 10,000 company-operated stores did not open their doors today,” Starbucks said, adding that there was no significant impact on store operations Friday .
About 20 people joined a picket line outside a North Chicago Starbucks, buffeted by snow and wind but cheering in response to the horns of passing cars.
A few confused customers tried to enter the closed store before the strikers began chanting, but union activist Shep Searl said the reaction was mostly positive.
Searl said 100 percent of the unionized workers at the Starbucks location in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood were participating in the strike and, according to the workers, they were subjected to numerous unfair labor practices, including articles, meetings with a “captive audience » and layoffs. .
The union member said they made about $21 an hour and added, “that would have been great pay in 2013.”
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This is insufficient pay, baristas say, given inflation and the high cost of living in a big city, especially since they rarely work 40 hours a week.
Employees picket in front of a Starbucks store, Friday, December 20, 2024, in Chicago.
AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato
SNOB OFFER FOR WORKERS
Negotiations between the company and Workers United began in April, based on an established framework agreed to in February, which could also help resolve many ongoing legal disputes.
The company said Thursday it has held more than nine bargaining sessions with the union since April and reached more than 30 agreements on “hundreds of issues,” including economic issues.
The Seattle-based company said it was ready to continue negotiations, saying union delegates prematurely ended the bargaining session this week.
However, the union said in a Facebook post on Friday that Starbucks had not yet presented a serious economic proposal, less than two weeks before the end-of-year contract deadline.
The workers’ group also rejected the offer of no immediate increase in wages and the guarantee of a 1.5% increase in the coming years.
“Workers United’s proposals call for an immediate increase in the minimum wage for hourly partners by 64% and 77% over the life of a three-year contract. This is not sustainable,” Starbucks said Friday.
In response to Starbucks’ statement on the proposals, Starbucks barista and negotiating delegate Michelle Eisen said: “Starbucks’ description of our proposals is misleading and they know it. We are ready to finalize a framework that includes new investment in baristas in the first year of contracts.
Separately, the baristas’ union said Friday it had filed a new labor practices complaint against the cafe, alleging that Starbucks “refused to negotiate and engaged in bad faith negotiations” over economic issues.
Hundreds of complaints have been filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), accusing Starbucks of illegal labor practices such as firing union supporters and closing stores during union campaigns. Starbucks has denied any wrongdoing and said it respects workers’ rights to choose whether to unionize.
WORKING ON A RECOVERY
Last month, the NLRB said Starbucks broke the law by telling workers at its flagship Seattle coffee shop that they would lose their benefits if they joined a union.
“It (the strike) is taking place during one of the busiest times of the year for Starbucks, which could magnify its impact while drawing unwanted public scrutiny of the company’s labor practices,” said Rachel Wolff, an analyst at Emarketer.
The coffee chain is working on a turnaround under its new boss, Brian Niccol, who aims to restore “coffee culture” by restructuring cafes and simplifying its menu, among other measures.
“Given how hard Starbucks is already struggling to win over customers, it cannot afford the negative publicity – or impact on sales – that the strike might bring,” Wolff said.
The Starbucks workers’ strike comes the same week as Amazon.com AMZN.O workers at seven U.S. factories walked out Thursday during the holiday shopping rush.
There were 33 work stoppages in 2023, the most since 2000, although far lower than in previous decades, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. show.
(Reporting by Renee Hickman in Chicago and Gursimran Kaur, Savyata Mishra and Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Chandni Shah and Rishabh Jaiswal; editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Pooja Desai and Muralikumar Anantharaman and Diane Craft)