Do you like Starbucks holiday drinks? You may not get them this week.
Starbucks Workers United has announced that baristas will strike in three major markets starting Friday: Seattle, Los Angeles and Chicago.
The union said the move is in response to the coffee chain’s “inability to bring viable economic proposals to the bargaining table” and “to resolve hundreds of outstanding unfair labor practice charges.”
The union, which began organizing in 2021, represents 525 union shops and more than 10,500 union workers, according to its website. Starbucks has nearly 10,000 company-owned U.S. stores, The Associated Press reports.
“Since February, Starbucks has repeatedly publicly committed to closing contracts by the end of the year – but has yet to present workers with a serious economic proposal,” the group wrote on end-of-year deadline, Starbucks proposed no immediate raises for union baristas, and a guarantee of only 1.5% raises in future years.”
The group said baristas will begin five days of escalating strikes starting Friday morning that could spread to other cities through Christmas Eve “unless Starbucks follows through on our commitment to work on a foundational framework.”
Starbucks, headquartered in Seattle, Washington, told NBC News that there has been “no significant impact” on store operations.
“We are aware of disruptions at a small handful of stores, but the vast majority of our U.S. stores remain open and serving customers as normal,” the company said.
In a press release Tuesday, the union said this and Starbucks had announced a path forward earlier this year and brought dozens of tentative agreements to the table, but “Starbucks has yet to bring a comprehensive economic package to the bargaining table.”
“Starbucks as a company can only get back on track once it has entered into a fair contract that invests in its employees. I currently earn €16.50 per hour. Meanwhile, Brian Niccol’s compensation package is worth $57,000 per hour,” Silvia Baldwin, a barista and negotiating representative from Philadelphia, said in a statement referring to the Starbucks CEO.
“The company just announced that I’ll only get a 2.5% raise next year, $0.40 an hour, which is barely anything. It’s one Starbucks drink per week. Starbucks needs to invest in the baristas that make Starbucks run,” she added.
A Starbucks spokesperson said Workers United representatives “have prematurely ended our bargaining session this week.”
Starbucks argued that it offers a “competitive average wage of more than $18 per hour, and best-in-class benefits” such as healthcare, college tuition, paid family leave and company stock grants.
“Workers United’s proposals call for an immediate increase in the minimum wage of 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 willing to continue negotiations.
It comes as the Teamsters union announced strikes at several Amazon delivery facilities on Thursday amid the holiday surge.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
