Starbucks workers stage holiday strike

By Sheri Williams

Starbucks workers across the country, including a local branch in Marysville, staged a multi-day strike before Christmas as part of their ongoing effort to win a contract from the coffee giant.

“We’re fighting for fair wages, a fair first contract and for Starbucks to resolve all their unfair labor practices,” said one striking worker from Yuba City, who came to a picket at the Marysville store to show support.

She added that while media reports say the CEO of Starbucks makes more than $50,000 an hour ($113 million annually), she was offered a 25 cent raise after seven years of service, “which maybe will get me a latte if I add it up at the end of the week,” she said.

“We are union because I believe in better workers’ rights,” said a Marysville Starbucks barista who has worked for the company for three years, who also joined the picket line. “We work all too hard to not be paid the wages we deserve.”

On a social media post, the union representing Starbucks workers, Starbucks Workers United, said this strike was “just the beginning.”

SWU said the current proposal from the company includes no immediate wage increase, and only a 1.5% increase in future years.

The union is asking for a $20 base wage along with annual 5% raises and cost of living adjustments. In addition, it is bargaining for a Starbucks-sponsored retirement plan, better healthcare, more consistent schedules and more paid leave.

“These unfair labor practice strikes are an initial show of strength, and we’re just getting started. We’re going to keep fighting until Starbucks gives us a serious economic offer,” the union wrote.

The Marysville strike was part of an effort that reached more than 40 states and closed up to 300 stores, according to the union. Starbucks put the figure at below 200.

It began in Los Angeles and Chicago, and included actions in Chicago, Dallas and Seattle, where Starbucks was founded.

The union said it is protesting the lack of progress with contract negotiations. Starbucks Workers United began organizing in 2021. Since then, workers at more than 500 stores have voted to join the union, and membership is now more than 10,000 employees. The company had promised to reach a labor agreement in 2024, but failed with that deadline, the union said.

The union is also protesting hundreds of unfair labor practice charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board, many that remain unresolved.

SWU said that 98% of union members voted to authorized the strike to “protest hundreds of still-unresolved unfair labor practice charges (ULPs) and win a strong foundational framework for union contracts.”

The strikes lasted five days, during one of the busiest seasonal times for Starbucks. Workers returned to their posts on Christmas day.