Starbucks union announces strike to last through Christmas Eve in 3 major cities

Do you love Starbucks holiday drinks? This week you may not get them.

Starbucks Workers United announced that baristas will strike starting Friday in three key markets – Seattle, Los Angeles and Chicago.

The union said the move is in response to the coffee chain’s “inability to bring viable financial proposals to the negotiating table” and “to resolve hundreds of outstanding unfair labor practice charges.”

The union, which began organizing in 2021, represents 525 union shops and over 10,500 union workers, according to its website. Starbucks has over 10,000 company-operated locations.

“Since February, Starbucks has repeatedly promised publicly that they intended to reach contracts by the end of the year — but they have yet to present workers with a serious economic proposal,” the group wrote on X. “This week, less than two weeks before their walkout deadline, Starbucks proposed no immediate pay increase for union baristas and a guarantee of only 1.5% pay increases in the coming years.”

The group said that starting Friday morning, baristas will begin five days of escalating strikes that could spread to other cities through Christmas Eve “unless Starbucks honors our commitment to work toward a basic framework.”

Starbucks, which is headquartered in Seattle, told NBC News there has been “no significant impact” on its store operations.

“We are aware of disruptions in a small handful of stores, but the overwhelming majority of our U.S. stores remain open and serving customers as normal,” company spokesman Phil Gee said in a statement.

About 10 of its company-operated stores did not open as planned on Friday.

On a Tuesday news release the union said, and Starbucks had announced a path forward earlier this year and has brought dozens of tentative deals to the table, but “Starbucks has yet to bring a comprehensive economic package to the bargaining table.”

“Starbucks cannot get back on track as a business until it completes a fair contract that invests in its workforce. Right now I make $16.50 an hour. Meanwhile, Brian Niccol’s compensation package is worth $57,000 an hour,” Silvia Baldwin, a Philadelphia barista and bargaining delegate, said in a statement, referring to the Starbucks CEO.

“The company just announced that I’m only getting a 2.5% raise next year, $0.40 an hour, which is almost nothing. That’s one Starbucks drink a week. Starbucks needs to invest in the baristas, that makes Starbucks run,” she added.

A Starbucks spokesman said Workers United delegates “prematurely ended our bargaining session this week.”

Starbucks claimed it offers a “competitive average wage of over $18 an hour and best-in-class benefits” such as healthcare, college tuition, paid family leave and company benefits.

“Workers United’s proposal calls for an immediate increase in the minimum wage for hourly partners by 64% and by 77% over the life of a three-year contract. This is not sustainable,” the company said.

Starbucks said it is ready to continue negotiations.

It comes as the Teamsters union announced strikes at several Amazon delivery facilities on Thursday, amid the rush of high delivery times.