Strikes by Starbucks workers have expanded to four more U.S. cities, including New York, and could spread to hundreds of stores across the country by Christmas Eve, according to the union representing over 10,000 baristas.
The five-day strike, which began on Friday and initially closed Starbucks cafes in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle, has added locations in New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia and St. Louis, Workers United said in a statement. It did not specify in what New Jersey city the walkout was occurring.
Starbucks said the disruptions from the strike have no significant impact on its operations because only a small handful of U.S. stores have been impacted.
"Workers United proposals call for an immediate increase in the minimum wage of hourly partners by 64%, and by 77% over the life of a three-year contract. This is not sustainable," the coffee chain said.
The union, which has organized workers at 535 company-owned U.S. stores since 2021, is striking in 10 cities, also including Columbus, Ohio; Denver and Pittsburgh, during the busy holiday season that may impact the company's Christmas sales.
The company operates more than 11,000 stores in the United States, employing about 200,000 workers.
Talks between Starbucks and the union hit an impasse with unresolved issues over wages, staffing and schedules, leading to the strike.
Workers United warned on Friday that the strike could reach "hundreds of stores" by Tuesday, Christmas Eve.
Starbucks began negotiations with the union in April. It said this month it had conducted more than eight bargaining sessions, during which 30 agreements had been reached.
But Workers United said the company has failed to honor a commitment made in February to reach a labor agreement this year.
It also wants Starbucks to resolve outstanding legal issues, including hundreds of unfair labor practice charges that workers have filed with the National Labor Relations Board.
In launching the strikes that started Friday in Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle, Workers United said Starbucks proposed an economic package with no new wage increases for unionized baristas now and a 1.5% increase in future years.
Union leaders said the strikes expanded on Saturday to include stores in Denver, Pittsburgh and Columbus, Ohio. In a post Sunday on X, the union said that picket lines had expanded to Brooklyn and Long Island in New York, St. Louis and Pittsburgh.
"We were ready to bring the foundational framework home this year, but Starbucks wasn't," Lynne Fox, president of Workers United said in a statement.
"After all Starbucks has said about how they value partners throughout the system, we refuse to accept zero immediate investment in baristas' wages and no resolution of the hundreds of outstanding unfair labor practices."
Starbucks said Workers United prematurely ended a bargaining session last week. The company also says it already offers pay and benefits worth $30 per hour for baristas who work at least 20 hours per week.
Starbucks workers walked off the job on two occasions last year. Workers United has said the latest strikes could spread to hundreds of stores across the country by Christmas Eve.
Strikes – particularly ones that happen during the holidays, a time of high economic activity – can help unions exercise leverage during negotiations or flex their muscles by garnering support from workers and sympathetic consumers.
Starbucks saw a wave of organizing efforts following the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic focused attention on front-line workers and the impact of economic inequality on the lives of wage-earning Americans.