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Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) has yet to agree on a first contract with the coffee giant. Now, the union is voting on whether to take more extreme action and go on strike.
As Kate Rogers reports for CNBC, the two sides “are not in active negotiations to reach a contract after talks between them fell apart in December of 2024.” Unionized workers held a series of practice pickets over the last two months, and will conduct 70 rallies and pickets across 60 cities over the next couple of weeks as voting for a wider strike takes place.
“We’re going to do whatever it takes to secure this contract,” barista and organizer Jasmine Leli told CNBC. The union is pushing for better pay and staffing, as well as a resolution on outstanding unfair labor practices charges filed against the company since the first store unionized in 2021. Rogers writes that it would cost Starbucks “less than one average days’ sales to settle the contract.”
In a statement, Starbucks noted that “Workers United only represents around 4% of our partners but chose to walk away from the bargaining table. If they’re ready to come back, we’re ready to talk.”
Also last week, SBWU filed a complaint with the International Olympic Committee, opposing Starbucks’ role as the “official coffee partner” of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. In its complaint, the union says that the company’s treatment of workers in the U.S. and abroad conflicts with the Olympic Games’ code of ethics.
“Starbucks’ long pattern of disrespecting workers’ rights stands in stark contrast to the Olympic spirit, which celebrates human dignity, fairness, solidarity, and teamwork,” SBWU spokesperson Michelle Eisen said. “Until Starbucks starts playing fair … they have no place at the Olympic Games.”
Starbucks denies the allegations. As part of its agreement with the Olympics, the company will build a one-off coffee shop in the Olympic and Paralympic villages and serve coffee throughout the games’ venues.
Photo by Andrea Farao on Unsplash
