Members of Starbucks Workers United picket outside a Starbucks store on Friday, December 20, 2024, in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Vincent Alban | Bloomberg | Getty Images
starbucks Starting Friday at cafes in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle, baristas at some locations plan to stay open through Christmas Eve.
As Starbucks Workers United demands better pay for baristas, the strike escalates by the day and covers new markets. Starbucks is “reversing its promised path of progress,” the union said in a post to X announcing the strike.
The suspension could mean longer wait times for holiday drinks and popular Starbucks products in the lead-up to Christmas, when many Americans are off from work and school or shopping for last-minute gifts.
Relations between the company and the union have cooled again after the thaw began earlier this year. In late February, the two sides agreed to cooperate on a “basic framework” that includes a process to reach collective agreements for individual stores. Since then, more than nine negotiation sessions have been held in 20 days, Starbucks said.
Earlier this week, Starbucks and the union held their last regular bargaining session of the year. But ahead of the meeting, Starbucks Workers United baristas voted to authorize a strike if the coffee giant doesn’t come up with a comprehensive package that addresses pay and other benefits.
According to the union, Starbucks proposed during the bargaining session that it would not raise wages for the time being and would only guarantee 1.5% annual wage increases going forward.
Starbucks said in a statement that Workers United prematurely ended this week’s bargaining session.
The company said it is “ready to continue negotiating toward an agreement. We need the union to return to the table.”
According to Starbucks, the union demanded an immediate 64% hourly wage increase for hourly employees and a 77% wage increase over the course of the three-year contract.
“This is not sustainable,” the company said in a statement.
Members of Starbucks Workers United picket outside a Starbucks store on Friday, December 20, 2024, in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Vincent Alban | Bloomberg | Getty Images
It’s been a tough year for Starbucks. Globally and in the U.S., sales are declining as consumers look elsewhere for their caffeine fix. Due to sluggish sales, baristas will reportedly receive a smaller annual salary increase next year than in previous years.
Starbucks Workers United represents more than 500 Starbucks company stores.
Starbucks baristas aren’t the only workers striking during the year-end rush. Amazon Workers at seven facilities went on strike Thursday to pressure the e-commerce giant to come to the negotiating table.
