The controversies for Starbucks this year are not over yet. The labor union representing more than 10,000 of the company’s baristas announced it has authorized a possible strike in the United States ahead of the final round of negotiations with the coffee giant this year.
According to data from Statista, Starbucks’ net revenue in 2023 amounted to approximately $36 billion, about $3.7 billion more than in 2022.
What’s Happening with the Starbucks Union?
On Tuesday, Workers United, which has a negotiating delegation representing workers from 525 Starbucks stores across the United States, revealed that the coffee giant has yet to present a comprehensive economic package. Meanwhile, hundreds of legal disputes over unfair labor practices remain unresolved.
The union, which has been urging Starbucks to increase wages, improve staffing in its stores, and implement better scheduling, stated it has not yet decided when to call for a strike.
In response, Starbucks said in an emailed statement that the union’s decision to authorize a strike was disappointing and reiterated its commitment to reaching a final framework agreement.
Negotiations between Starbucks and Workers United began in April to establish a “fundamental framework” for guiding collective bargaining in the country and potentially resolving outstanding legal disputes.
The company reported that it had scheduled and attended over eight negotiation sessions with Workers United delegates since April and reached agreements on 30 “dozens of topics.”
The previous round of negotiations took place in September, just weeks after the surprise appointment of former Chipotle Mexican Grill CEO Brian Niccol as the new director of Starbucks.
Before the September talks, Niccol, responding to a letter from some baristas in the negotiating delegation, stated he was committed to “engaging constructively” with the union.
Additionally, it was reported this week that Starbucks increased its paid parental leave from six to 18 weeks for workers in its more than 11,000 company-operated stores, effective March.
Other companies facing similar situations
Amazon workers at the JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island, New York, recently announced a “historic strike” on Friday, December 13, just before Christmas. Their goal was to pressure the company to sign an agreement with what is its first unionized facility in the United States.
“We’re going to hit Amazon where it hurts until they decide it’s time to sit down and negotiate (…) We can’t wait any longer. We’re not kidding,” said Justine, an Amazon worker at the plant, in a video published on the union portal More Perfect Union.
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