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Strike of Starbucks workers, which is expected to last until Christmas Eve, has now expanded to 10 large US cities – bad news for last-minute shoppers looking to pop in for a coffee break.
The walkout is being organized by Workers United, a union representing more than 10,000 baristas, to protest the lack of progress in contract negotiations with the company. Workers urged customers not to buy any items from the popular chain until the sale ends on December 24. Those pictured on the protest lines are shown holding signs reading: “No contract, no coffee”.
The strike comes after similar action was taken by warehouse workers at the retail giant during the holiday season Amazonwhich left seven delivery centers on Thursday.
The Starbucks strike, which began on Friday, first closed coffee shops in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle – where the chain is headquartered – but has now added locations in New York, Philadelphia and St. Louis.
Strikes are also taking place in Columbus, Denver, Pittsburgh and New Jersey, although Workers United did not specify where the New Jersey walkout is taking place.
The strike was organized over a five-day period during the busy holiday season with the intention of disrupting the company’s Christmas sales. Workers United warned on Friday that the strike could reach “hundreds of shops” by Tuesday, Christmas Eve. It is unclear when the Amazon strike will end.
“The workers are striking in response to Starbucks backing away from our agreed ‘way forward’ regarding the future of organizing and collective bargaining,” the union said in a statement. “During negotiations this month, the company offered an offensive economic package without immediate wage increases.”
Workers United said the strike comes after Starbucks failed to meet its commitment to reach a labor agreement this year. The union also wants the company to resolve outstanding legal issues, including hundreds of unfair labor practice complaints filed by workers with the National Labor Relations Board.
The union noted that Starbucks President and CEO Brian Niccol, who started in September, could earn more than $100 million in his first year on the job.
However, the company is said to have recently proposed an economic package with no new wage increases for union baristas now, and a 1.5 percent increase in future years.
Starbucks – which employs about 200,000 workers – played down the impact strikes on stores, saying only about 10 of the 10,000 stores across the U.S. did not open Friday because of the strike. The company argued that Workers United prematurely ended a bargaining session this week.
“We are ready to continue negotiations to reach an agreement. We need the union back at the table,” Starbucks said in a statement.
Similarly, Amazon workers joined the picket lines for the first time Thursday after the retail giant ignored a weekly deadline set by the Teamsters union for contract negotiations.
The strikes are taking place at three delivery centers in Southern California and one each in San Francisco, New York, Atlanta and Skokie, Illinois, the union said in a statement.
The Teamsters have not officially indicated when the actions will end, but Vinnie Perrone, president of the Teamsters union in the New York metro area, said Thursday that the walkout will continue “as long as necessary.”
The union, which says it represents 10,000 Amazon workers at 10 facilities, said workers at multiple locations are ready to join the fight.