Starbucks strike spreads to Minnesota, closing multiple Twin Cities stores on Christmas Eve
Strikes at Starbucks stores nationwide extended to Minnesota on Christmas Eve. Workers at Metro and Duluth stores are taking part in strikes at hundreds of stores, and the union and company are working to reach a wage increase deal by the end of the year.
Starbucks Workers United announced the strike began late last week after months of negotiations broke down.
Nine Minnesota stores reportedly participated in the strike on Tuesday. Eight of the stores were in metro areas, and most were closed as of noon after the baristas left.
Signs reading “Temporarily Closed” were posted on the door and drive-thru menu of the Fairview Avenue store in Roseville as unionized workers picketed the parking lot.
“Everybody left,” barista Alex Rivers said.
“They want to do more with less, which means they’re understaffed. That means longer lines, fewer people on the floor… This is a last resort. . They kicked us out of here. We felt we had no choice.”
More than 300 stores nationwide are on strike, making it the largest strike in Starbucks history, according to the union.
Still, the people on strike represent only a small portion of the company’s more than 10,000 coffee shops. A Starbucks spokesperson said 98% of the company’s stores remained open Tuesday.
Barista Maeve Filkins also joined in the picketing of the Roseville store.
“Starbucks is the second largest fast food company in the world,” she said.
“And I look around at all these people who are working very hard and they don’t even get a wage increase of more than 1.5 (percent), which is ridiculous. CEOs make $57,000 an hour. ”
The union said it would not compromise on the proposal, which would result in “less than 50 cents an hour for most baristas.”
In response, Starbucks said it offers “a competitive average wage of over $18 an hour and best-in-class benefits,” and called the union’s demands “unsustainable.”
“It’s frustrating because we don’t feel appreciated and seen,” Rivers said.
“We’re here for a living wage, dignity, respect and a serious offer. That’s all we want.”
The union and the company blamed each other for the recent breakdown in negotiations.
Starbucks statement regarding today’s strike at U.S. stores:
“Only approximately 170 Starbucks stores did not open as planned. With more than 10,000 company-owned stores, 98% of our stores and approximately 200,000 Green Apron partners remained open and serving customers during the holidays. We offer
Starbucks’ full statement on negotiations:
“Workers United representatives prematurely ended this week’s bargaining session. Given the progress we have made so far, it is disappointing that they were not able to return to the table. Since April, we have We held more than nine negotiation sessions in 20 days. We held more than 30 negotiations on hundreds of topics that Workers United representatives said were important to us, including many economic issues. A meaningful agreement was reached.
We are focused on improving the partner (employee) experience and have invested more than $3 billion in the past three years. Starbucks offers competitive average salaries of over $18 an hour and best-in-class benefits. Added together, these are worth an average of $30 per hour for baristas who work at least 20 hours a week. Benefits include medical care, free college tuition, paid family leave, company stock grants, and more. No other retailer offers such a comprehensive pay and benefits package.
Workers United’s proposal calls for an immediate 64% increase in the minimum wage for hourly partners and a 77% increase over the course of the three-year contract. This is not sustainable. We stand ready to continue negotiations to reach an agreement. We need unions back at the table. ”
Read the latest press release from Starbucks Workers United below.
“On Tuesday, more than 5,000 Starbucks baristas were laid off and more than 300 Starbucks stores in 43 states were closed in the largest strike ever to hit the coffee giant.
The Christmas Eve strike resulted in a five-day unfair labor practice (ULP) strike that began in three states on Friday after the company failed to offer any serious economic measures in negotiations, leading to a busy pre-holiday period. It expanded in a hurry and reached a powerful national end. Workers decided to go on strike in the ULP after Starbucks failed to provide raises in the first year of the proposed agreement, backing away from the agreed-upon direction for the future of company organizing and collective bargaining.
The striking baristas accused Starbucks of hundreds of unresolved unfair labor practice charges and the company’s failure to come up with a viable economic offer that included new investment in baristas. criticized.
“I make $15.49 an hour as a barista, but Starbucks CEO Brian Nicol’s compensation package is valued at more than $50,000 an hour. Half of the baristas at my store can’t afford to live close to work. “I drive 30 minutes each way because I don’t have one,” said Lauren Hollingsworth, a barista from Ashland, Oregon. “It’s absurd. Starbucks has lost its way. We know this because we see it in stores every day. My colleagues and I believe investing in baristas is the only way to turn things around. That’s why we made the difficult decision to launch an unfair labor practice strike in hundreds of stores across the country. These attacks are our first show of strength, and we’re just getting started. is.”
Employees have finished work at all three Starbucks locations in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and major roasteries in New York City and Seattle, including the 24-hour picket line at the Seattle Roastery. Workers across the country chanted “No Contract, No Coffee” and chanted “Merry Strikemas” and “Santa calls for workers to unite” as Teamsters drivers refuse to cross picket lines to make deliveries. He held up a placard that read, “Support me.”
Baristas in 43 states Tuesday: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi and Montana. went on strike. , Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
Brian Nicol took over as CEO in September, with a pay package worth at least $113 million. “That’s a shocking 10,000 times the average hourly wage for a barista,” said Michelle Eisen, who worked as a barista at Buffalo Starbucks for 14 years and served as its negotiating representative. “In October, we were ready to exchange comprehensive economic proposals. In October, November, and December, Starbucks was unable to bring a viable economic proposal to the table that included real investment in baristas. This is a setback to months of progress and the company’s promise to work toward ratification of the framework at the end of the year. I’m ready to do what it takes.”
SEIU International President April Verrett and Workers United President Lynn Fox joined striking workers in a rainy Philadelphia day.
Mr. Verrett told striking Starbucks workers in Philadelphia, “This company is here because you work, so they need to get back to the bargaining table.” “Without our words, we have nothing in this world. And as Starbucks has won the contract and committed to completing this framework by the end of the year, we hold them accountable. We’re going to let you do the right thing so we can get back to the table and get to work getting this company back on track. And it won’t happen without you.’
Since Workers United and Starbucks announced their future plans earlier this year, the two sides have spent hundreds of hours negotiating and countless hours preparing for each session. The company has repeatedly vowed to reach a deal by the end of the year, and the parties have had dozens of tentative agreements on the table.
But Starbucks has yet to offer workers a serious financial offer. Earlier this month, with less than two weeks until the end of the year deadline, Starbucks proposed a stimulus package, but there are currently no new wage increases for union baristas, with future wages set to be only 1.5%, or 50 cents a year. It was guaranteed that the amount would be less than that. For most baristas, that’s an hour.
On Friday, the first day of the strike, the barista union filed new unfair labor practice charges accusing Starbucks of “refusing to negotiate and engaging in bad faith bargaining” over economic issues. Hundreds of other unfair labor practice charges are pending before the NLRB.
“They made us an insulting economic proposal,” Foxx told strikers on a picket line in Philadelphia on Tuesday. “And when I say insulting, I mean it’s been around for a long time. It’s been pretty insulting. I mean, they’ve spent a lot of money and invested a lot of money in executive leadership. In 2017, they did not do the same for baristas, while at the same time publicly acknowledging that baristas run the company and that the company is capable of doing so. We cannot run a business without baristas, and baristas are essential to the company.But still, we received an insulting financial offer. They have no choice. They have not kept their promise to reach the basic framework by the end of this year. …So I’m telling you right now, this is just the beginning. We’re going to do whatever it takes to get the company to honor its promise.”
Throughout 2024, Starbucks Workers United baristas went on a “winning streak” of organizing, leading to baristas in more than 100 stores voting to join the union. They’re driving a national movement of more than 11,000 baristas working together to win workplace protections on core issues like respect, a living wage, racial and gender equity, and fair scheduling. To date, more than 535 store partners in 45 states and the District of Columbia have won unions. Last week, baristas won unionization efforts at six more stores in Maine, North Carolina, Texas, New York City and Seattle, including the SoDo Reserve store inside Starbucks headquarters.
Baristas returned to work on Wednesday after ULP’s five-day strike, ready to return to the bargaining table to consider serious economic proposals from the company. They will spend the next few days strategizing the next steps in their campaign to win a fair contract.
“The holiday season is supposed to be magical at Starbucks, but for many of us, there’s a dark side to our peppermint mochas and gingerbread lattes,” says a negotiator from Illinois who has worked there intermittently. , Aroa Fluor (girlfriend) said. Worked at Starbucks for 18 years. “I am a mother of three children, including a diabetic daughter. My hours have been drastically reduced, I will not be able to pay my bills, and I may not be able to receive medical care, including insulin for my daughter. We understand the panic, which is why we’re making a strong case for Starbucks to invest in baristas like me.”
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