AP – A five-day strike by Starbucks baristas had closed 59 stores as of Monday afternoon, according to the union organising the workers.
The strike, which began on Friday in Los Angeles, Chicago and Starbucks’ hometown of Seattle, spread on Monday to stores in Boston, Dallas and Portland, Oregon. Workers in New York, Denver, Pittsburgh and other cities had also joined the strike over the weekend.
Workers are protesting a lack of progress in contract negotiation with the company.
Starbucks Workers United, which began the unionisation effort in 2021, said Starbucks has failed to honour a commitment made in February to reach a labor agreement this year.
The union also wants the company to resolve outstanding legal issues, including hundreds of unfair labor practice charges that workers have filed with the National Labor Relations Board. Since 2021, baristas at 535 company-owned US Starbucks stores have voted to join the union.
The strike comes at one of the busiest times of the year for Starbucks. But the company said on Monday it has had “no significant impact” to its store operations. Starbucks has around 10,000 company-operated stores in the US.
“We respect our partners’ right to engage in lawful strike activity, and we appreciate the thousands of partners across the country who are continuing to support each other and deliver the Starbucks experience for our customers,” the company said on Monday in a statement.
