Starbucks bartenders he left Work in major cities in Massachusetts, Texas and Oregon on Monday, extending the long holiday the strike to 12 cities in the state, according to the Starbucks Workers United union.
Workers went on strike in Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, and Portland, Oregon, joining baristas in cities from Los Angeles to Philadelphia.
Striking bartenders brought business to a halt Sunday at nearly 50 stores nationwide in several cities, Workers United said.
“The holiday season should be magical at Starbucks, but for too many of us there’s a darker side to peppermint mochas and gingerbread lattes,” Arloa Fluhr, a longtime Starbucks employee in Illinois, told ABC News.
Fluhr, a mother of three, struggled to support the family on the salary she received at Starbucks, she said. “That’s why we’re adamant about asking Starbucks to invest in baristas like me,” he added.
United Workers, union representing 525 Starbucks stores in the U.S. said baristas across the nation began a strike on Friday. Monday’s hike is the latest expansion in a strike that has grown daily since it began, the union said.
The holiday season is one of the busiest times of the year for the coffee shop giant, the union added.
In February, Starbucks Workers United and Starbucks announced they would work out a “basic framework” for collective bargaining at the stores, which the union said has not materialized.
“We were ready to bring home the base camp this year, but Starbucks wasn’t there,” Workers United President Lynne Fox said in a statement to ABC News. “The baristas of the Union know their value, and they will not accept any proposal that does not consider them as true partners.”
Starbucks did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
In response to an earlier request for comment from ABC News, Starbucks spokesman Phil Gee said the company has not been significantly affected by the strike.
“We are aware of the disruption at a few stores, but the majority of our US stores remain open and serving customers as normal,” Gee said on Dec. 20.
Starbucks has said it remains open to resuming negotiations with the union. “Representatives from Workers United ended our bargaining session early this week. It is disappointing that they have not returned to the table given the progress we have made to date,” the company said. “We are ready to continue negotiations to reach agreements.”
The union and the company remain far apart on the central issue of a potential wage increase, according to statements from both sides about the other’s proposal.
Starbucks workers hold signs outside a Starbucks in Burbank, California, on December 20, 2024, during a strike to demand collective bargaining agreements.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
Workers United told ABC News in a statement that Starbucks had proposed no immediate pay increases for most baristas and only guaranteed 1.5% pay increases over the next few years.
Meanwhile, Starbucks said in a statement that the union proposed a 64% increase in the minimum wage for current associates immediately, as well as an overall increase of 77% over the course of a three-year contract. “This is not sustainable,” a Starbucks spokesperson told ABC News.
Starbucks United disputes those figures as a false characteristic of its proposal, the union told ABC News.
A number of local elected officials joined workers in picketing Sunday, including Democratic Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and Democratic New York Comptroller Brad Lander, the union said.
Baristas have unionized more than 100 Starbucks stores this year, expanding their union campaign. spread out The union said it has expanded to hundreds of stores in 45 states since their initial victory three years ago at a location in Buffalo, New York.
The union has filed hundreds of complaints with the National Labor Relations Board alleging illegal union activity by Starbucks, including alleged bad faith negotiations over a potential union contract at union locations.
Starbucks has denied wrongdoing and blamed the union for breaking negotiations. The company offers better pay and benefits than competitors, Starbucks said.
“We are focused on improving the partner (employee) experience, having invested more than $3 billion in the last three years. Starbucks offers a competitive average wage of more than $18 an hour, and best-in-class benefits,” Starbucks told ABC News- in the statements made by “No other retailer offers this comprehensive compensation and benefits package.”
ABC News’ Leah Sarnoff contributed to this report.
