Starbucks Baristas Unite: Major Strike Over Pay and Working Conditions Begins

Over 11,000 Starbucks baristas across the United States have initiated a significant five-day strike amidst ongoing disputes concerning pay and working conditions. This walkout commenced on Friday in major cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and Seattle, with the union, Starbucks Workers United, indicating that the strike’s reach will expand daily, potentially impacting hundreds of stores nationwide by Christmas Eve unless a resolution is achieved.

The union’s key demands include raising wages, improving staffing levels, and establishing more favorable work schedules for employees. In response to the strike announcement, a Starbucks spokesperson expressed their willingness to negotiate, stating, “We are ready to continue negotiations to reach agreements. We need the union to return to the table.”

This strike represents the largest action taken by Workers United since the union began its efforts to negotiate a contract with Starbucks over two years ago. Starbucks Workers United has experienced growth since 2021, now representing over 500 shops in 45 states. Fatemeh Alhadjaboodi, a barista from Texas, conveyed the urgency of the strike: “It’s a last resort, but Starbucks has broken its promise to thousands of baristas and left us with no choice.”

The union has pointed to what it perceives as an unjust disparity in pay between staff and top executives, particularly citing Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol, whose annual base salary is $1.6 million, with additional performance bonuses potentially increasing his earnings to over $30 million per year.

Starbucks defends its compensation strategy, framing Niccol as an effective leader whose pay is linked to the company’s overall performance and the success of its stakeholders. The company asserts that it provides average wages exceeding $18 per hour, with total compensation—when including benefits—averaging around $30 per hour for baristas working at least 20 hours a week.

The strike emerges at a challenging time for Starbucks, as the coffee chain faces declining sales amid backlash over price hikes and boycott movements related to the Israel-Gaza conflict. In August, Starbucks appointed Niccol to lead the company through these turbulent times, following the departure of former CEO Laxman Narasimhan, who had adopted a more conciliatory stance towards union relations earlier this year.

Simultaneously, labor movements are gaining momentum, as demonstrated by the Teamsters union, which staged protests against Amazon, seeking to pressure the ecommerce giant during the critical holiday shipping period. This collective push for better working conditions illustrates a broader trend of labor activism taking hold across various sectors in the United States.