Starbucks workers in three other major cities have joined the growing strike, now in the third of five days planned before Christmas.
The strike expands to Boston, Massachusetts; Dallas, Texas; and Portland, Ore., starting Monday. It follows the closing of nearly 50 stores nationwide on Sunday, according to a statement from the company’s union, Workers United.
Members and supporters of the Starbucks Workers United union picket outside a Starbucks coffee shop in New York, U.S., on Thursday, November 16, 2023. Starbucks Corp. baristas went on strike Thursday, saying the coffee chain is rightfully refusing. negotiate with their union. Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bloomberg via Getty Images
“Nobody wants to go on strike. It’s a last resort, but Starbucks has broken its promise to thousands of baristas and left us with no choice,” said Fatemeh Alhadjaboodi, a Texas barista and bargaining delegate.
“Starbucks has invested so many millions in top executive talent that it has failed to present a viable economic proposition to the bartenders who run its company and to address the unfair labor practices,” he said.
The baristas’ union had been negotiating with Starbucks since February, but it said Starbucks “refused to negotiate and engaged in bad faith bargaining” leading up to the strike announcement last Thursday.
Workers United, which has unionized more than 525 Starbucks locations in the United States, said in a press release Thursday that unfair labor practices and stalled negotiations with the company are behind the holiday strike.
The union said the five-day strike will escalate until December 24, on what it calls the company’s busiest days of the year.
“The holiday season is supposed to be magical at Starbucks, but for too many of us there’s a darker side to peppermint mochas and gingerbread lattes,” said Arloa Fluhr, Illinois bargaining agent, who has worked at Starbucks for 18 years. , as part of a statement from the United Workers.
She said the store’s regular reduction in employee hours put her at risk of not being able to pay her bills and losing access to health care, including her daughter’s insulin.
“These allegations, due to unresolved unfair labor practice charges and the company’s offer of a serious financial package, are just the beginning,” Fluhr wrote in an op-ed published in Fast Company last week.
Members and supporters of the Starbucks Workers United union picket outside a Starbucks coffee shop in New York, U.S., on Thursday, November 16, 2023. Starbucks Corp. baristas went on strike Thursday, saying the coffee chain is rightfully refusing. negotiate with their union. Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bloomberg via Getty Images
Workers United and Starbucks announced in February that they would work out a “basic framework” for collective bargaining at the stores, which the union said has not materialized.
In a statement Thursday after the strike announcement, Starbucks said Workers United representatives had “preemptively terminated” the bargaining session earlier this week.
Workers United, however, says the coffee giant has not provided a “serious financial proposal”.
The latest expansion follows a start last Friday in Chicago, Illinois; Los Angeles, California; and Seattle, Washington — home to the brand’s world headquarters.
Other participating locations include Columbus, Ohio; Denver, Colorado; Pittsburgh, Philadelphia; and St. Louis, Missouri.
“This is just the beginning,” Alhadjaboodi said. “We will do everything necessary for the company to fulfill the commitment it made with us in February.”
ABC News’ Zunaira Zaki contributed to this report.
