Starbucks workers kick off 65-store US strike on Red Cup Day

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More than 1,000 unionized Starbucks workers plan to strike at 65 U.S. stores on Thursday to protest a lack of progress in labor negotiations with the company.

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The strike was aimed at disrupting Starbucks' Red Cup Day, which is typically one of the busiest days of the year for the company. Since 2018, Starbucks has been giving away free reusable cups to customers who purchase a holiday drink on this day.

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Starbucks Workers United, the union representing Starbucks baristas, said it would affect stores in 45 cities, including New York, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, San Diego, St. Louis, Dallas, Columbus, Ohio and Starbucks' hometown of Seattle. There is no set end date for the strike, and more stores are prepared to join if Starbucks does not reach a contract agreement with the union, organizers said.

Starbucks stressed that the vast majority of its U.S. stores will be open and operating as usual on Thursday. The coffee giant has 10,000 company-owned stores in the United States, as well as 7,000 licensed locations in places such as grocery stores and airports.

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About 550 company-owned Starbucks stores in the United States are currently unionized. Many voted to unionize, but Starbucks closed 59 unionized stores in September as part of a broader turnaround campaign.

This is what is behind the strike.

Stalled contractual agreement

The striking workers say they are protesting because Starbucks has not yet reached a contract agreement with the union. Starbucks workers voted to unionize for the first time at a Buffalo store in 2021. In December 2023, Starbucks promised to complete the agreement by the end of 2024. But last August the company fired Laxman Narasimhan, the CEO who made that promise. The union said progress has stalled under Brian Niccol, the company's current chairman and CEO.

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Workers want higher wages and better hours

Workers say they want better hours and better staffing at stores where they say long wait times for customers are common. They say too many workers aren't getting the required 20 hours a week they need before Starbucks benefits kick in. They also want higher wages, pointing out that executives like Niccol earn millions.

The union also wants the company to resolve hundreds of unfair labor practice charges brought by workers who claim the company fired baristas in retaliation for unionizing and failed to negotiate changes to policies that workers must enforce, such as its decision earlier this year to limit restroom use to paying customers.

Starbucks maintains its salaries and benefits

Starbucks says it offers the best wage and benefit package in retail, costing an average of $30 an hour. Company benefits include up to 18 weeks of paid family leave and 100% tuition at a four-year college. In a letter to employees last week, Starbucks general partner Sarah Kelly said the union walked away from the bargaining table in the spring.

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Kelly said Starbucks remains open to dialogue and “believes we can move quickly to a reasonable deal.” Kelly also said surveys have shown that most employees enjoy working for the company, and barista turnover is half the industry average.

Restricted areas with high visibility

Union workers have already gone on strike at Starbucks. In 2022 and 2023, workers walked off the job on Red Cup Day. Last year, a five-day strike just before Christmas closed 59 stores in the United States. Each time, Starbucks said the disruption to its operations was minimal. Starbucks United said the new strike is open-ended and could spread to many other unionized locations.

The number of non-union Starbucks locations dwarfs the number of unionized ones. But Todd Vachon, a union expert at the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations, said any strike could create visibility and inform the public about barista concerns.

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Unlike manufacturers, Vachon said, retail industries depend on connections between employees and customers. That makes shame a potentially powerful weapon in the union's arsenal, he said.

Improved sales

Starbucks same-store sales, or at locations open at least a year, rose 1% between July and September. For the first time in nearly two years, the company reported an increase. In his first year with the company, Niccol set new standards for hospitality, redesigned stores to be more intimate and welcoming, and adjusted staffing levels to better cope with peak times.

Starbucks is also trying to prioritize in-store orders over mobile ones. Last week, the company's US holiday drink launch was so successful that its glass Bearista cups sold out almost immediately. Starbucks said demand for the cup has exceeded its expectations, but did not say whether the Bearista will return before the holidays are over.

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