Starbucks union escalates strike during busy holiday season

A week after baristas threatened to go on the largest and longest strike in Starbucks history, the United Workers union said it would add more than two dozen new cities and stores to its strike count.

The union said on Thursday it would now strike 95 stores in 65 cities, with about 2,000 baristas taking part in the strike. On Wednesday, coffee makers and allies also picketed and held a rally outside the company’s York distribution center, and Starbucks said there had been no interruption to its York operations.

The majority of stores where strikes were held had to close on the first day of the strike due to staffing problems, and worker shortages affected about 50 locations in the following days, United Workers said. Starbucks said stores that encountered problems were often able to reopen quickly and that less than 1% of its locations experienced disruption due to the strike.

The strike so far appears to have not affected traffic and sales, according to the company and data from Placer.ai. Data from the location intelligence tracking company shows that traffic on Red Cup Day, when the strike was launched, rose 44.5% compared to the daily average between January 1 and November 14 this year.

In a note to workers last week, CEO Brian Nicol praised the success of the holiday rollout so far.

“Together, we set new records. Last Thursday’s holiday launch was our biggest sales day ever in North America. Then yesterday, we had the strongest day for the reusable red cup in company history,” the memo sent Friday read.

The union began organizing at Starbucks in 2021 and says it now represents more than 11,000 workers at more than 550 stores. Five non-union stores have filed for union elections, including locations in the Baltimore, Maryland, area, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Little Rock, Arkansas, she said this week. Last week, the company told CNBC that the union represents only 9,500 workers.

The United Workers Organization is seeking new proposals that address its most important issues to finalize the contract. Those They include improving work hours, increasing wages, and resolving hundreds of unfair labor practice charges against Starbucks. The two parties did not enter into active negotiations to reach a contract after the collapse of the talks between them late last year. The strikes have not changed this fact yet.

Starbucks and the union entered into mediation in February, and hundreds of barista delegates voted against the economic package Starbucks proposed in April. Both sides blamed the other for failing to reach a negotiated agreement, and say they are ready to negotiate.

The strike threatened to hurt business during Starbucks’ busy holiday season, which typically provides a boost in sales and will be key to the chain’s plan to improve performance in the United States under Nicol’s leadership. Starbucks broke a nearly two-year streak of declining same-store sales in its most recently reported quarter. The company said previous strikes affected less than 1% of its stores.

Starbucks confirms that it will be ready to serve customers across its stores this holiday season.

“As we’ve said, 99% of our 17,000 U.S. locations remain open and welcoming customers — including many unionized that publicly announced they would strike but have never closed or reopened since,” Starbucks spokesperson Jackie Anderson said in a statement regarding the escalation of the strike.

“Regardless of the union’s plans, we do not expect any meaningful disruption,” Anderson said. “When the union is ready to return to the negotiating table, we are ready to talk.” “The facts are clear, Starbucks offers the best job in retail, with wages and benefits averaging $30 an hour for hourly associates. People choose to work here and stay here – our turnover is less than half the industry average, and we receive more than a million job applications each year.”