Starbucks’ Five-Day Worker Strike Expands to More Cities

The union strike at Starbucks is expanding at a staggering pace, covering over 300 additional stores in mere days. Just days shy of Christmas Eve, Starbucks is seeing temporary store closures at nearly 60 locations across the U.S. as a result of the five-day strike. 

The walkout began in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Seattle on December 20, and is now scheduled to end late on Tuesday. Pursuing the Starbucks store closures so close to Christmas Eve was intended to send a message to the leadership to showcase the union’s commitment to new regulations, but the organization appears unaffected by the strike.

Image: Starbucks

The Starbucks Strike Expands to Include More Workers

According to the latest Starbucks worker strike updates, the protest has expanded to over 300 stores, including more than 5,000 workers ready to walk off their jobs to participate in the protest. On Sunday, the union reported that the walkout had expanded to Brooklyn and Long Island in New York, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh.

The strike now includes stores in Denver; Philadelphia; and Pittsburgh and Columbus, Ohio, as per CBS News. Starbucks Workers United, the union behind the strike, is believed to represent employees at 525 stores nationwide, and as a result of its reach, over 60 U.S. stores across 12 major cities saw select stores shut on Monday. 

Starbucks workers have been pushing to unionize and formalize a contract for a long time now, but the coffee chain has been accused of being reluctant to bargain in good faith and seriously consider the demands of the workers. The union had been optimistic that a deal would be struck before the end of the after a similar commitment was made in February, but negotiations haven’t led to any fruitful results.

Starbucks Workers United Remains Unhappy with the Contract Offered by Starbucks

While Starbucks has been more amenable to negotiations under the leadership of its new CEO Brian Niccol, the two parties still remain at odds with each other and unsatisfied by the other’s response. Reportedly, Starbucks proposed an economic package that did not provide any immediate wage increases for the unionized baristas and only offered a 1.5% increase in future years. 

This was not satisfactory for the union as the group was asking for immediate hikes along with an immediate focus on the outstanding legal issues that were pending on the sidelines. There are multiple unfair labor practice charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board that need to be addressed and the union aims to push the organization to take the matter up immediately. 

The Union Strike Against Starbucks Does Not Appear to Be an Urgent Concern for the Company

On the other side of things, the coffee company has accused the union of prematurely ending a bargaining session earlier than planned, impeding the progress of the negotiations. Starbucks pointed Reuters to its earlier statement where the company claimed that 97% to 99% of Starbucks stores were expected to continue to operate and serve customers. 

“We respect our partners’ right to engage in lawful strike activity, and we appreciate the thousands of partners across the country who are continuing to support each other and deliver the Starbucks experience for our customers,” the company said in a statement.

Despite Starbucks’ store closures on Christmas Eve, which is a busy time for a large number of companies, the company does not expect its business to be affected quite as significantly as workers might have hoped. 

In recent weeks, the news surrounding Starbucks has been more positive considering the company’s expansion of its parental leave policy for eligible employees and its plans to prioritize its “green apron” workers, however, at the ground level, workers want changes to the most basic form of compensation they receive first.

Amazon Teamster union workers have launched a similar strike against their employer as well, demanding better wages and working conditions, but Amazon remains equally unmoved by the protests.

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