Starbucks workers union goes on strike in US cities | Workers’ rights news

Some union members representing more than 10,000 Starbucks baristas in the United States have begun a five-day strike at stores in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle, citing unresolved issues over wages, hiring and work schedules.

The strike, which began on Friday, is the latest in a series of labor actions in the United States that have accelerated across service industries after a period in which workers at auto, aerospace and railroad manufacturers received major concessions from their employers.

The Starbucks United Workers union, which represents employees at 525 stores across the United States, said late Thursday that strikes would escalate daily and could reach “hundreds of stores” across the country by Christmas Eve.

“It is estimated that 10 of the 10,000 stores operated by the company were not open today,” Starbucks said, adding that there was no significant impact on store operations on Friday.

About 20 people joined a picket line at a Starbucks location on Chicago’s north side, amid snow and wind, but they were chanting in response to the horns of passing cars.

A few confused customers tried to enter the closed store before strikers began chanting, but union member Chip Searle said the reaction was mostly positive.

Searle said 100% of unionized workers at a Starbucks location in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood participated in the strike and, according to workers, were subjected to numerous unfair labor practices including write-outs, “captive audience” meetings and firings. . (A captive audience meeting is a mandatory meeting organized by a company where employees are interested in joining a union and where it brings in labor relations consultants to talk about the pros and cons of joining a union.)

They were paid about $21 an hour, union members said, adding that this “would have been great pay in 2013.”

Coffee industry workers said that this is insufficient pay, given inflation and the high cost of living in a large city, especially since they rarely get 40 hours of work per week.

“We plan to escalate if necessary,” they said.

impasse

Negotiations between the company and United Workers began in April, building on a firm framework agreed to in February, which could also help resolve several outstanding legal disputes.

The company said Thursday that it has held more than nine bargaining sessions with the union since April, reaching more than 30 agreements on “hundreds of topics,” including economic issues.

The company, headquartered in Seattle, said it was ready to continue negotiations, claiming that union representatives ended this week’s negotiating session prematurely.

However, the union said in a Facebook post on Friday that Starbucks has yet to submit a serious economic proposal with less than two weeks remaining until the year-end contract deadline.

The workers’ group also rejected an offer to not raise wages immediately and guarantee a 1.5 percent increase in future years.

“The labor union’s proposals call for an immediate increase in associates’ minimum hourly wages of 64%, and by 77% over the life of the three-year contract. This is not sustainable,” Starbucks said on Friday.

Hundreds of complaints have been filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), accusing Starbucks of illegal labor practices such as firing union supporters and closing stores during labor campaigns. Starbucks has denied any wrongdoing and said it respects workers’ right to choose to join a union.

Last month, the NLRB said Starbucks violated the law by telling workers at its flagship Seattle coffee shop that they would lose benefits if they joined the union.

“It (the strike) is occurring during one of the busiest times of the year for Starbucks, which could amplify its impact while leading to unwanted public scrutiny of the company’s labor practices,” said Rachel Wolf, an analyst with market research firm eMarketer.

The café chain is undergoing a transformation under the leadership of its newly appointed chairman Brian Nicol, who aims to restore “café culture” by overhauling the cafés and simplifying the menu, among other measures.

“Given how much Starbucks is already struggling to win customers, they cannot afford any negative publicity — or impact on sales — that a strike could bring,” Wolf said.

The union called for support on picket lines in the three cities starting around 18:00 GMT, according to a post on X.

The Starbucks workers’ strike comes the same week that… Amazon workers At seven US facilities, they stopped working on Thursday, during the holiday shopping rush.

Data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that there were 33 work stoppages in 2023, the most since 2000, although much fewer than in previous decades.