Starbucks baristas to strike on Friday, union says

A union representing more than 11,000 Starbucks baristas in the United States says its members will hold a five-day strike starting Friday morning in a dispute over wages and working conditions.

Workers United says the walkouts will begin in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle, with strike action spreading each day and reaching hundreds of stores by Christmas Eve unless a deal is struck.

It follows that the union is calling on the coffee shop giant to raise wages and staff as well as implement better schedules for its workers.

“We are ready to continue negotiations to reach agreements. We need the union to return to the table,” a Starbucks spokesman said in response to the strike announcement.

The company also highlighted that it offers an average wage of over $18 (£14.40) an hour, as well as “best in class benefits.”

“Together, they are worth an average of $30 an hour for baristas who work at least 20 hours a week,” it said.

Workers United says it represents workers in more than 500 stores in 45 US states.

“It is a last resort, but Starbucks has broken its promise to thousands of baristas and left us with no choice,” Fatemeh Alhadjaboodi, a Starbucks barista from Texas, said in a statement sent to the BBC by the union.

Workers United has highlighted what it sees as an unfair pay gap between its members and senior Starbucks executives, including CEO Brian Niccol.

His annual base salary is $1.6 million. He could also get a performance-related bonus of as much as $7.2 million. and up to $23 million. year of Starbucks stock.

Starbucks has previously defended the plan, saying that Mr. Niccol was “one of the most effective executives in our industry” and that his compensation was “directly tied to the company’s performance and the shared success of all our stakeholders”.

Niccol joined the company in September. His predecessor, Laxman Narasimhan, stepped down after serving in the role for less than two years.

The world’s largest coffee shop chain has experienced declining sales as it struggled with a backlash to price increases and boycotts triggered by the Israel-Gaza war.

The strike at Starbucks comes as one of the most powerful unions in the United States is staging a protest against Amazonaiming to put pressure on the tech giant as it rushes out of packages in the final run-up to Christmas.

The Teamsters union said Amazon delivery drivers at seven facilities in the United States had walked off the job Thursday after the company refused to negotiate with the union over a labor contract.