A union representing over 11,000 Starbucks baristas in the U.S. has announced a five-day strike beginning Friday, citing issues with pay and working conditions. Workers United states that the walkouts will start in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Seattle, and will expand each day, potentially affecting hundreds of stores by Christmas Eve if no agreement is reached. The union is demanding higher wages, better staffing levels, and improved scheduling for workers. In response, a Starbucks spokesperson stated they are ready to continue negotiations and urged the union to return to the bargaining table.
Starbucks has emphasized that it offers an average hourly wage of over $18 along with “best-in-class benefits,” which together are worth an average of $30 per hour for baristas working at least 20 hours per week.
Workers United, representing employees at over 500 Starbucks locations across 45 U.S. states, is organizing the strike. Fatemeh Alhadjaboodi, a barista from Texas, said in a union statement that the strike was a “last resort” after Starbucks failed to keep its promises to its workers.
The union has also pointed out a pay gap between its members and senior Starbucks executives, including CEO Brian Niccol, whose base salary is $1.6 million. Niccol could earn an additional $7.2 million in performance bonuses and up to $23 million annually in stock options. Starbucks has defended this compensation, stating that Niccol is one of the industry’s top leaders and that his pay is tied to the company’s performance.
Meanwhile, Starbucks has faced declining sales, partly due to backlash over price hikes and boycotts linked to the Israel-Gaza conflict.
The strike at Starbucks coincides with a protest by the Teamsters union against Amazon. On Thursday, Amazon delivery drivers at seven U.S. facilities walked off the job, demanding better labor conditions as the company refused to negotiate a contract with the union ahead of the busy holiday season.
