Starbucks strike to expand to more than 300 stores, union says. Here’s where.
A walkout at Starbucks is expanding to more than 300 U.S. stores on Tuesday, with roughly 5,000 workers expected to join the five-day labor action that comes to a close later in the day, according to the employees’ union.
Workers at 60-plus stores walked off their jobs in 12 major cities on Monday, with the Christmas Eve expansion projected to be the biggest yet by Starbucks Workers Union, which represents workers at 525 stores across the country.
“Half the baristas in my store drive 30 minutes one way because they can’t afford to live closer to work,” said Lauren Hollingsworth, a barista from Ashland, Oregon, in a union release.”These strikes are an initial show of strength,” she added.
The roughly 60 stores that were temporarily shuttered during the weekend and on Monday represent “a very small number” of its more than 10,000 locations across the U.S., Starbucks noted.
“We anticipate that tomorrow — Christmas Eve — Workers United will seek to cause more stores to close,” according to Sara Kelly, Starbucks’ executive vice president and chief partner officer, who noted that 97% to 99% of its stores would be unaffected.
“We are ready to continue negotiations when the union comes back to the bargaining table,” Kelly said in a statement posted by the company on Monday. On Tuesday, the company referenced that statement when asked for comment about the expanded strike.
The five-day strike started on Friday, putting it in play during the holiday shopping season, and broadened to include more stores in additional cities during the weekend, with workers protesting a lack of progress in contract talks with the Seattle-based company.
Where the Starbucks strikes are taking place
Baristas have walked picket lines and shut down Starbucks locations across 13 metro areas in recent days, according to the union. That includes locations in:
- Boston
- Chicago
- Columbus, Ohio
- Denver
- Los Angeles
- New York City
- Philadelphia
- Pittsburgh
- Portland, Oregon
- Seattle
- St. Louis
- Tucson
Active picket lines planned for Tuesday include the following 10 locations, the union said:
- Atlanta 10830 Haynes Bridge Road, Alpharetta, GA 12 pm EST
- Buffalo, N.Y. 933 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo, NY 12 pm EST
- Chicago 5964 N Ridge Ave, Chicago, IL 12pm CST
- Columbus, Ohio 88 East Broad St, Columbus OH 43215 12pm ET
- Dallas 2300 S Loop 288 Denton,TX 12pm CST
- Los Angeles 3241 N Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 10am PST
- NYC: Manhattan 444 Broadway, New York, NY 12pm EST
- Philadelphia 1528 Walnut St, Philadelphia, PA 9am EST
- Portland 720 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 12pm PST
- Seattle Pike Street Roastery, 1124 Pike St, Seattle, WA 1pm PST
According to the union, the company has failed to honor a commitment made in February to reach a labor agreement this year.
Starbucks proposed an economic package with no new wage increases for unionized baristas now and a 1.5% increase in future years, the union said Friday.
Starbucks said Workers United prematurely ended discussions this week. Its pay and benefits are already worth $30 an hour for those working at least 20 hours a week, the coffee chain said.
The union also wants Starbucks to resolve outstanding legal issues, including hundreds of unfair labor practice charges that workers have filed with the National Labor Relations Board. The agency also has opened or settled hundreds of charges against Amazon. On Thursday, a day before the Starbucks walkouts, the Teamsters union announced strikes at seven Amazon delivery hubs.