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Starbucks Baristas Are on Strike

Twas the strike before Christmas. 

starbucks strike
Starbucks workers picket a Starbucks store in Chicago, Illinois. Photo: Vincent Alban/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Heads up: it may take a little longer to get your Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Espresso at Starbucks today, as baristas are set to strike in multiple cities across the US. 

The union that represents more than 10,000 Starbucks workers is seeking higher pay, more hires, and changes to scheduling. In order to get their point across, union members in Los Angeles, Chicago, and the company’s home base, Seattle, will begin their five-day strike today. 

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The impact for consumers could be felt across hundreds of stores. What makes things worse for customers (and the business) is the timing, which is exactly why the union likely decided on today for the strike action. What better way to force the higher-ups’ hands than staging a strike that could run across Christmas Eve?

The two sides have spent most of the year searching for a solution, coming close in February before progress unraveled.

“This week, less than two weeks before their end-of-year deadline, Starbucks proposed no immediate wage increase for union baristas, and a guarantee of only 1.5% wage increases in future years,” the Starbucks Workers Union wrote on X. “Our unfair labor practice (ULP) strikes will begin Friday morning and escalate each day through Christmas Eve… unless Starbucks honors our commitment to work towards a foundational framework.”

They also called out Starbucks for a “failure to bring viable economic proposals to the bargaining table.”

My favorite thing about this strike is the festive branding, with the group naming the action ‘Twas the Strike Before Christmas. Well done, all.