Unprecedented Starbucks Strike Set for Thursday Proves Ongoing US Labor Unrest

Thousands of Starbucks workers across hundreds of stores will stage a one-day strike to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the absence of a first contract, despite dedicating nearly two years to organizing efforts within the coffee chain. Unlike recent strikes at the nation's three unionized automakers by the United Auto Workers union, or the strikes by SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America that resulted in the halt of production for numerous movies and television shows, the Starbucks strike will be of shorter duration.

However, the union emphasized the significance of their limited duration strike on a crucial promotional day for Starbucks. They believe that this action is crucial in their ongoing efforts to secure their first contract with the chain. This strike also serves as a testament to the high levels of union activism in workplaces across America, which haven't been witnessed in decades, even with over 200,000 striking workers returning to their picket lines in the past month.

Starbucks Workers United, the union, achieved its initial representation vote at a Starbucks store in Buffalo, New York, in December 2021. Since then, they have successfully won more votes in 368 additional stores out of 454 elections. However, despite these victories, none of the 9,000 union members spread across the stores have managed to secure contracts as of yet.

For the second consecutive year, the union has organized extensive walkouts and protests to coincide with the company's "Red Cup" day promotion, during which it sells holiday cups that can be reused.

However, even in previous strikes, several struck stores remained operational as management replaced striking workers, who were part of the union, with employees from nearby non-union stores and managers. The close proximity of numerous Starbucks stores facilitates this practice. The union maintained that picket lines enable them to communicate their message to Starbucks customers, a significant portion of whom they believe sympathize with their cause, even if the unionized stores continue to operate.

Moe Mills, who prefers they/them pronouns, is employed at a Starbucks establishment in St. Louis, Missouri that operates under a union. According to Mills, seven other unionized stores in the city have made arrangements to cease operations on Thursday. "Our intention is for our particular store to remain closed," Mills stated during an interview with CNN on Tuesday. "The employees will not be present."

Mills took part in the "Red Cup" day protest last year, which was strategically planned to overlap with a company promotional event. This event involved Starbucks distributing reusable holiday cups to customers who made specific drink purchases.

Participating in the protest enabled Mills to engage in conversations with customers regarding the union's goals. "Informing customers about our cause is crucial," Mills noted. They further emphasized that although Starbucks fails to listen to its employees, they are obligated to listen to their customers.

The company and the union blame each other for the lack of progress in negotiations.

However, the union maintains that the company is obstructing the progress toward reaching a mutual agreement. Earlier this fall, the union lodged an unfair labor practice complaint against Starbucks with the NLRB, citing the company's refusal to negotiate regarding promotion days.

According to the union's statement, promotion days such as Red Cup Day and Buy One Get One Free offers lead to a surge in customers at stores, without any additional staff to handle the increased number of orders. On Red Cup Day, drink orders accumulate and are abandoned, causing long lines and leaving Starbucks employees to deal with angry customers who have had to wait much longer than usual for their drinks and food. Meanwhile, the employees are also trying to quickly prepare complex holiday specialty beverages. When the supply of red cups runs out, customers become disappointed and often direct their frustrations towards the workers.

Limited duration strikes, like the one at Starbucks or the three-day strike at Kaiser Permanente last month, have become a significant tactic for unions to assert their power. Although these actions have not resulted in a contract at Starbucks, they did secure a labor agreement for over 75,000 union workers at Kaiser Permanente and 30,000 non-teaching employees who went on strike in March at Los Angeles schools.

In addition to resolving the auto deals and actors and writers labor agreements, several other significant work stoppages have been avoided through last-minute labor agreements. Particularly notable is the agreement that involved 340,000 Teamsters employed by UPS, which was reached just before the strike deadline of August 1. Similarly, a series of agreements were reached earlier this month, covering almost 40,000 employees at 18 casinos located along the Las Vegas Strip.

However, there are still workers who are currently on strike. This includes approximately 4,000 union members at three casinos in Detroit and over 1,000 workers at Michigan Blue Cross-Blue Shield. Both groups have been on strike for more than a month.

In the near future, there are a few significant contracts that are set to expire. This includes a contract for 30,000 assembly line workers at Boeing and another contract for 45,000 dockworkers at East Coast ports. Both of these contracts are scheduled to expire in September.