Some star workers in the US are on strike. Here’s why

Unionized Baristas from 65 Starbucks locations across the US went on strike on Thursday, intensifying their push for a collective bargaining agreement addressing wage and labor concerns.

The union and the company have not been in active negotiations since talks broke up in December 2024

In response to the votes, Starbucks issued a statement on April 25 that said, “This week, despite more than 200 hours of negotiations and more than 130 requests, the unionized workers have exchanged, effectively used for our joint development.”

Above 1,000 Starbucks employees in 40 cities within The US is on strikeaccording to the union. Employees walk out on Starbucks’ red cup day on Nov. 13, a sales event that often kicks off the busy coffee holiday season.

“The strike comes after six months of Starbucks refusing to offer new proposals to address workers’ demands for better performance,” the SBWU wrote on its website. CBC News asked the SBWU for comment on the strike action, but it did not respond at the time of publication.

In a statement to CBC News, Starbucks spokeswoman Jaci Anderson said that “less than 1 percent” of its coffeehouses were seeing “any measure” of the strike.

What they are asking for

SBWU Highlighted requirements That means Starbucks is not looking, including issues with under-wage and wage increases.

“We won a lot as a union … but Starbucks continues to see it through contract negotiations. It’s time to do this so we can all move forward,” the union said on its website.

In its statement, Starbucks said: “We are disappointed that the unionized workers, who represent a small percentage of the four partners, have asked to go on strike instead of returning to the bargaining table.”

The SBWU wrote that “going to the bargaining table is pointless” if Starbucks won’t offer proposals that address the union’s demands.

The SBWU has grown to represent thousands of baristas since the organization started with a BUFFALO, New York, union shop in 2021.

Barry Eidlin, a professor of sociology at McGill University, suggested that the growth of the Union campaign can be attributed to the fact that “it has been modeled more than many things that have been used in recent decades.”

While its success in achieving key demands for higher wages and better performance remains to be determined, Eidlin said the union has made significant gains on the “floor” of its organization over the past few years.

In September, hundreds of Starbucks locations in northern North America were shut down and 900 non-sales workers were furloughed.

“Each year, we open and close coffee shops for a variety of reasons, from financial performance to leasing,” CEO Brian Niccol wrote in an open letter in September. “This is a very important action that we understand will have an impact on partners and customers. Our coffees are community centers, and closing any place is difficult.”

What about Canada?

In May, the United Steel Workers, who represent Starbucks workers in Canada, announced that workers at five Starbucks locations in Ontario were renewing their first LED contract.

Before that, Starbucks closed its only store in Vancouver in 2023, to which USW Local 2009 responded with a complaint. However Labor Relations Board BC Whether Starbucks had a valid reason to close the Vancouver location, it found that the company had made unreasonable threats against workers to discourage efforts.

The USW, which is the largest union in North America and represents 225,000 workers in Canada, said in a statement to CBC News that the demands of the striking workers in the US are “absurd.”

“They are the foundation of a healthy workplace, and we encourage Starbucks to return to the table in good faith.”