A coalition of progressive groups is hoping to pressure Starbucks into reaching a deal with its baristas’ union now that contract negotiations have stalled.
The union Workers United has organized nearly 650 Starbucks stores representing 12,000 baristas around the country since late 2021. The two sides started to make headway in a series of negotiations last year, but they remain far apart on key issues as the union campaign’s four-year anniversary approaches.
On Friday, more than 40 groups wrote Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol saying they would stand by the baristas if they went on strike. The letter was signed by the AFL-CIO labor federation, a dozen major unions, and groups like Greenpeace USA, the League of Conservation Voters and the Democratic Socialists of America.
“We will continue to back union workers’ fight, including by not crossing barista picket lines at Starbucks if they feel striking is necessary,” they wrote. “We may even join them on the picket line if progress toward a fair contract isn’t being made.”
In a statement, Liz Shuler, the AFL-CIO’s president, called Starbucks “a multi-billion-dollar coffee giant that can certainly afford to invest in the baristas who power its profits.”
“After all, it’s the same company that paid its CEO 6,666 times that of an average barista last year,” she added.
A broad agreement covering thousands of baristas would be historic for the U.S. food and retail sector, which is largely non-union and known for high employee turnover. Organizers have argued that a contract improving pay and stabilizing schedules would raise the bar not only for Starbucks but the industry as a whole.
But securing a first collective bargaining agreement can be notoriously difficult for a newly unionized workforce. The union has accused the company of walking away from negotiations — a characterization Starbucks disputes.
“We’re waiting for Starbucks to come back to the bargaining table,” said Jasmine Leli, a barista at one of the first stores that unionized, in the Buffalo, New York, area. “Things were going well, we were making progress … and then Starbucks backtracked on their commitments.”
Lindsey Wasson/File via Associated Press
In late 2023, Starbucks announced that it intended to settle contracts with Workers United by the end of the following year. They are now more than eight months past that deadline.
A Starbucks spokesperson argued it was the union that walked away from the bargaining table by going on strike last December ahead of the holidays, when the two sides couldn’t agree on pay rates and other economic issues.
“We’re committed to continuing to be the best job in retail,” the company said in a statement to HuffPost. “Hourly partners earn an average of $30/hour in pay and benefits, including free college, comprehensive healthcare, and up to 18 weeks of paid family leave for part-time work.”
Niccol, who left Chipotle last year to helm the coffee chain, is leading Starbucks through a turnaround effort meant to reverse flagging sales in the U.S. and China. Billed as “Back to Starbucks,” the overhaul includes bringing back the cafes’ condiment bars, dropping the non-dairy milk up-charge and investing more in labor to improve service.
Echoing some other workers, Leli said complicated drink orders are taxing baristas.
“All of that extra work has not equated to additional people working to meet the demand,” she said. “So that’s why we have in our contract [proposal] that we are wanting consistent schedules and guaranteed hours.”
The company claimed its worker turnover rate is at “record lows and about half the industry average.”
Leli, who’s a member of the union’s bargaining committee, said there are no negotiations on the calendar at the moment, but they hope to meet with the company soon. She said the union isn’t ruling out going on strike again.
“If the company can invest millions of dollars in Brian Niccol, who hasn’t worked on the floor of a Starbucks store … then they can certainly invest money in the workers that are making drinks and keeping the customers coming back every day,” she said.