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When he took over as Starbucks CEO in September 2024, Brian Niccol had many ideas for turning the multinational corporation with thousands of locations back into a “welcoming coffeehouse.” One of his first initiatives was to instruct baristas to write fun messages on to-go cups. To fulfill this goal, Niccol said the company planned to order 200,000 Sharpies.
“Handwritten notes on our cups have proven to be a simple, yet meaningful action that fosters moments of connection with our customers,” read a memo sent to baristas a few months after the initiative started.
Did it work? Well, Reuters reports that Starbucks customers are returning, and sales are up. But as Beth Teitell reports for the Boston Globe, it might not be because of the cheery notes. Customers, Teitell writes, don’t seem to notice the messages, and if they do they often find them sad or offputting. “‘Much love’ from a stranger?” one customer told her. “It’s so awkward.”
For baristas, the added step means extra work. “We are already dealing with a lot of issues like understaffing,” one barista said. “As simple as it may seem, adding a Sharpie marker to our routine is stressful.”
In 2025, Business Insider reported on a “crackdown” by Starbucks over the messages, with managers disciplining workers for not writing notes or writing the wrong thing. Serious or repeat infractions can result in termination, the report noted. Starbucks didn’t comment on the report.
Starbucks Workers United, the group representing unionized stores, has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. Teitell reports that the group contends that by requiring workers to write the messages, “the company unilaterally changed the terms and conditions of work for employees and is refusing to bargain.” Starbucks didn’t respond to the Boston Globe’s requests for comment.
In other Starbucks unionizing news, SBWU has withdrawn its petition for a union vote at the company’s historic Pike Place Market location in Seattle. As Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton reports for the Seattle Times, the union said it withdrew due to an ongoing unfair labor practices charge.
Baristas filed for a union at the Pike Place location, the first-ever Starbucks, in April. The store is a popular tourist spot and always busy, and organizers said they faced “unfair treatment and operational issues without the support needed to succeed.”
At the time, Starbucks spokesperson Jaci Anderson said not all workers at the store were supportive, a sentiment Boyanton found when speaking with baristas last week. One worker said they felt pressured to sign union authorization cards, while another noted tension in the store due to divided loyalties.
Starbucks criticized the petition withdrawal. Doing so “prevents Pike Place partners from having the opportunity to make clear publicly whether they ever wanted union representation,” Anderson told the Times.
Photo by Rachelia Kriss on Unsplash
