As the drive to organize Starbucks enters its fourth year, the union fueling it is bringing the struggle inside the coffee giant’s headquarters.
Starbucks Workers United (SWU) announced Tuesday with evident glee that employees of the Starbucks unit within the chain’s Seattle home office are joining the movement. The staff opted by a 21-14 vote to have the union negotiate a new labor agreement on its behalf.
The victory was announced on Dec. 17—three years to the day since the first store in the SWU’s quest was officially declared a union shop by federal regulators.
Laden with symbolic significance, the announcement also came on the eve of what might prove to be the first actual strike called by the SWU.
The group has asked members to dial into an “emergency call” on Thursday evening. No reason was given for the virtual meeting, but the request to participate came hours after the SWU revealed it’s been authorized by 98% of its green-aproned members to call a strike if contract negotiations continue to falter.
The SWU’s deep-pocketed patron, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), has routinely convened what it characterized as strikes, walkouts and other job actions, not only against Starbucks but a host of other fast-food chains as well. Most of those intended shows of strength have amounted to a handful of employees picketing for the benefit of photographers and TV news crews.
But there’s speculation among longtime SEIU watchers that a true walkout might be in the works this time. Never before has the SWU been authorized to call a strike. What’s more, a negotiating session with Starbucks management was scheduled for Tuesday, the same day SWU members were asked to join the emergency conference call.
A strike, or a serious threat of one, could give the SWU considerable leverage in the back-and-forth on pay, benefits, staffing levels, scheduling reforms and the other issues it’s designated as key concerns.
Since the union secured a foothold within the Starbucks system in 2021, starting with the pilot store in Buffalo, N.Y., the staffs of 525 more units have voted to organize.
Dozens of other units would decide in the weeks following the vote in Buffalo to also seek union representation. The employees said they felt unheard by headquarters. They also cited the mounting pressures of having to produce a wider array of complicated drinks, all in a flash, as Starbucks expanded its beverage roster.
Relations between the union and management would alternately grow hot and cold as the drive continued. Both parties sought relief from the courts and the National Labor Relations Board as accusations flew back and forth in public.
Formal contract negotiations would begin in February 2024, after a bitter exchange of fire over who should be in those sessions.
Initially, management and labor praised one another for the willingness that was being shown to hammer out a labor accord. But the SWU’s flurry of announcements this week suggests it may have revised its assessment.
“Starbucks has yet to bring a comprehensive economic package to the bargaining table and hundreds of as-yet unsettled unfair labor practices remain unresolved,” the SWU said in announcing its authorization to call a strike. “While talks to settle litigation have occurred, more than $100 million in legal liabilities remain outstanding.”
Starbucks spokesperson Phil Gee countered in a statement to Restaurant Business that the negotiating parties had reached “30 meaningful agreements on dozens of topics” designated as being important to SWU members.
“We remain committed to working together and committed to reaching a final framework agreement,” Gee said. “If the delegates want to serve the partners they represent, they need to continue the work of negotiating an agreement.”