Newsman: Starbucks baristas walked off the job in major cities in Massachusetts, Texas and Oregon on Monday, expanding the days long holiday strike to 12 cities nationwide, according to the union Starbucks Workers United.
Striking baristas brought business to a halt in almost 50 stores nationwide on Sunday across multiple cities, Workers United said.
Starbucks Workers went out on strike in Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, and Portland, Oregon, joining baristas in cities spanning from Los Angeles to Philadelphia.
Workers United, a union representing 525 Starbucks stores in the U.S., said baristas nationwide launched a strike on Friday. The escalation on Monday is the latest expansion of a strike that has grown each day since it began, the union said.
The holiday season is one of the busiest periods of the year for the coffeehouse giant, the union added.
In February, Starbucks Workers United and Starbucks announced they would work on a “foundational framework” to reach a collective bargaining agreement for stores, something the union says has not come to fruition.
Starbucks said in a statement that the union had proposed an immediate increase in the minimum wage of hourly partners by 64%, as well as an overall 77% raise over the duration of a three-year contract. “This is not sustainable,” a Starbucks spokesperson told news media.
Baristas have unionized more than 100 Starbucks stores this year, expanding a union campaign that has spread to hundreds of stores across 45 states since an initial victory three years ago at a location in Buffalo, New York, the union said.
The union has filed hundreds of charges with the National Labor Relations Board alleging illegal anti-union activities carried out by Starbucks, including alleged bad-faith negotiations over a potential union contract setting terms at the unionized locations.
Starbucks has denied wrongdoing and faulted the union for breaking off negotiations. The company offers better pay and benefits than its competitors, Starbucks said.
“We are focused on enhancing the partner (employee) experience, with over $3 billion invested in the last three years. Starbucks offers a competitive average pay of over $18 per hour, and best-in-class benefits,” Starbucks said in a statement to ABC News. “No other retailer offers this kind of comprehensive pay and benefits package.”
