Unionised baristas at Starbucks have escalated their industrial action, urging customers to delete the coffee chain’s mobile app in a show of solidarity as their strike enters its third month. The campaign represents a strategic shift in tactics as workers continue their pursuit of a first union contract.
Starbucks Workers United, the union coordinating the industrial action, has maintained its strike since 13 November last year. KC Ihekwaba, a barista at a Lafayette, Colorado location, addressed a solidarity call this week, stating that workers remain committed to securing a fair contract. The union’s demands centre on livable wages, stable and predictable working hours, and an end to alleged union-busting activities.
The labour dispute follows a significant unionisation drive that began in December 2021. Workers have successfully won union elections at more than 600 Starbucks locations, with Starbucks Workers United currently representing approximately 11,000 baristas across 576 stores in the United States. An additional 15 stores filed for union elections last month, despite several closures affecting the overall count.
The union modified its strike strategy at the end of December, with most stores issuing return to work notices to Starbucks. The revised approach aims to maintain between several hundred and 1,000 workers on strike using a rotational system, acknowledging the financial strain extended industrial action places on low income employees. This tactical adjustment also allows the union to redirect resources towards expanding unionisation efforts. Currently, approximately 1,000 baristas across nearly 50 stores remain on strike.
Christi Gomoljak, a Starbucks barista who recently helped organise a union at the Downtown Disney location in Anaheim, California, explained the rationale behind the mobile application deletion campaign during the solidarity call. She encouraged Starbucks customers to remove the application from their devices, suggesting they could reinstall it once workers secure a fair contract and redeem any holiday gift cards at that point.
Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labour federation, framed the dispute as extending beyond the immediate workplace concerns. She characterised the campaign as a question of whether working people can maintain dignity in an economy they sustain through their labour.
Starbucks has consistently minimised the strike’s impact, asserting that fewer than 1 per cent of its stores have been affected at any point. The company claims that more than half of the affected locations either continued operations or reopened shortly after strike action commenced. Starbucks did not provide comment on the application deletion initiative.
Jaci Anderson, a Starbucks spokesperson, described the union’s decision to call for an unconditional return to work at nearly all striking locations as a positive development. She expressed hope that this signals a renewed willingness to engage in negotiations. Anderson highlighted that more than 30 tentative agreements are already in place and expressed confidence that the company can reach a fair contract expeditiously. She noted that Starbucks offers compensation and benefits averaging over 30 dollars per hour for hourly partners, positioning these terms as the best available in the retail sector.
The dispute remains unresolved as both parties maintain their respective positions on compensation, working conditions, and union recognition.
