Starbucks strike expands, closes nearly 60 US stores

A five-day strike by Starbucks baristas had closed 59 stores as of Monday afternoon, according to the union organizing the workers.

The strike, which began Friday in Los Angeles, Chicago and Starbucks’ hometown of Seattle, spread Monday to stores in Boston, Dallas and Portland, Ore. Workers in recent York, Denver, Pittsburgh and other cities had also joined the strike over the weekend.

Workers are protesting a lack of advancement in deal negotiation with the business. Starbucks Workers United, which began the unionization attempt in 2021, said Starbucks has failed to integrity a commitment made in February to reach a labor agreement this year.

The union also wants the business to resolve unpaid legal issues, including hundreds of unfair labor habit charges that workers have filed with the National Labor Relations Board. Since 2021, baristas at 535 business-owned U.S. Starbucks stores have voted to join the union.

The strike comes at one of the busiest times of the year for Starbucks. But the business said Monday it has had “no significant impact” to its store operations. Starbucks has around 10,000 business-operated stores in the U.S.

“We regard our partners’ correct to engage in lawful strike activity, and we appreciate the thousands of partners across the country who are continuing to back each other and deliver the Starbucks encounter for our customers,” the business said Monday in a statement.

The two side have been bargaining since the spring but appear to have reached an impasse over economic issues. Starbucks said it has committed to an annual pay boost of 1.5% or more for unionized workers. If the business gave a lower boost to non-union workers in any given year, it still would provide union workers a 1.5% boost.

Starbucks said its U.S. baristas make an average of $18 per hour. With benefits — including health worry, free college tuition and paid household leave — Starbucks’ pay package is worth an average of $30 per hour for baristas who work at least 20 hours per week, the business said.

Workers declare they deserve more, and note that Starbucks’ recent Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol, who started in September, could make more than $100 million in his first year on the job.