Starbucks Workers Strike In More Than 100 U.S. Stores

Starbucks workers at more than 100 US stores are on strike Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, in their largest labor action since a campaign to unionize the company’s stores began late last year, Dee-Ann Durbin reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: Stores in 25 states planned to take part in the labor action, according to Starbucks Workers United, the group organizing the effort.

The walkouts coincide with Starbucks’ annual Red Cup Day, when the company gives free reusable cups to customers who order a holiday drink. Workers say it’s often one of the busiest days of the year. Starbucks declined to say how many red cups it plans to distribute.

Workers say they’re seeking better pay, more consistent schedules and higher staffing levels in busy stores.

Stores in 25 states planned to take part in the labor action, according to Starbucks Workers United, the group organizing the effort. Strikers are handing out their own red cups with union logos. A total of 257 stores are unionized out of 9,000 in the US.

Willow Montana, a shift manager at a Starbucks store in Brighton, Massachusetts, planned to strike because Starbucks hasn’t begun bargaining with the store despite a successful union vote in April.

“If the company won’t bargain in good faith, why should we come to work where we are understaffed, underpaid and overworked?” Montana said.

Others, including Michelle Eisen, a union organizer at one of the first stores to organize in Buffalo, New York, said workers are angry that Starbucks promised higher pay and benefits to non-union stores. Starbucks says it is following the law and can’t give union stores pay hikes without bargaining.

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