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United States: Starbucks Workers United goes on strike over pay

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Published: 23/12/2024

Starbucks workers, members of IUF-affiliate Workers United/SEIU, came out on strike on Friday, December 20 after pay negotiations with the company stalled. The strike will escalate in the coming days affecting three of Starbucks’ most important markets, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

  • Starbucks announced on February 27, 2024 that it would bargain a national master agreement with Workers United/SEIU,  the first time a major US fast food company had agreed to such a process
  • Negotiating meetings have taken place but Starbucks has backtracked, failing to bring viable economic proposals to the bargaining table or to resolve hundreds of outstanding unfair labor practice charges
  • On August 13, 2024, Brian Niccol was named incoming chairman and chief executive officer with a salary of $1.6 million and a $10 million starting bonus
  • The organizing drive at Starbucks in the US started in 2021, when the workers at a Starbucks location in Elmwood, New York voted in favour of joining Workers United/SEIU. Since then, workers at over 500 locations across the US have done the same.
“Starbucks can’t get back on track as a company until it finalizes a fair contract that invests in its workforce. Right now, I’m making $16.50 an hour. Meanwhile, Brian Niccol’s compensation package is worth $57,000 an hour. The company just announced I’m only getting a 2.5% raise next year, $0.40 an hour, which is hardly anything. It’s one Starbucks drink per week. Starbucks needs to invest in the baristas who make Starbucks run.”
Fatemeh Alhadjaboodi, a 5-year Starbucks barista from Texas