Unionized Starbucks baristas voted to authorize an open-ended strike ahead of Starbucks’s high-traffic holiday season, announced Starbucks Workers United on Wednesday.
The union said workers are prepared to strike if a contract is not finalized by 13 November, which is the company’s Red Cup Day, and strike actions could hit more than 25 cities and escalate if there is a lack of progress.
Starbucks Workers United, which represents more than 9,000 workers out of Starbucks’s over 200,000 baristas, has filed more than 1,000 charges against Starbucks for alleged unfair labor practices to the National Labor Relations Board, the union said.
Michelle Eisen, a spokesperson for the union who left Starbucks after a 15-year career at the company, said in a statement: “If Starbucks keeps stonewalling, they should expect to see their business grind to a halt. The ball is in Starbucks’ court.”
The Starbucks Workers United union, had been in talks with the company since last year, and said in October it will vote on picketing in about 60 cities, demanding a contract that reflects “improved staffing, better pay and on-the-job protections”.
Both sides blame the other for ending talks late last year and say they are ready to return to discussions.
Starbucks said in a statement that “any agreement needs to reflect the reality that Starbucks already offers the best job in retail”.
“Our fight is about actually making Starbucks jobs the best jobs in retail. Right now, it’s only the best job in retail for Brian Niccol [Starbucks’ CEO],” said Jasmine Leli, a three-year Starbucks barista and strike captain from Buffalo, New York. “Things have only gone backwards at Starbucks under Niccol’s leadership, but a fair union contract and the resolution of hundreds of unfair labor practice charges are essential to the company’s turnaround.”
