some organized Starbucks WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Stores across the U.S. are on strike starting Friday, starting in Seattle, after the coffee giant and the union representing baristas publicly clashed over claims the company won’t allow Pride month decorations at cafes.
More than 150 stores representing nearly 3,500 workers have pledged to join the strike, which will take place next week, the Starbucks Workers United said. The union said more than 20 other stores were voting on strike authorization, a number that could grow to nearly 200 stores by the end of the week.
Last week, the union claimed dozens of U.S. stores did not allow employees to decorate for Pride month, an allegation that shows how a wave of backlash against LGBTQ+ inclusion has spread to what is seen as a liberal bastion of corporate America. Starbucks said it has not revised its store renovation guidelines.
“There have been no changes to any policy on this matter, and we continue to encourage our store leaders to celebrate with their communities, including Pride of America month in June,” the company said last week, adding that it firmly supports LGBTQ+ community. Local store leaders and employees can make their own decorating decisions based on the guidelines set forth in the company safety handbook.
Responding to its pledge to strike, the company added, “The United Workers continue to spread disinformation about our benefits, policies, and negotiation efforts, a tactic that appears to be used to divide our partners and divert their interest in more than 200 Non-responsive concerns for a negotiating session. Store.”
exist posts on its websiteStarbucks shared a June 14 letter from May Jensen, vice president of partner resources, to United Workers president Lynne Fox, asking the union to “cease knowingly misleading partners.”
Workers have been unable to renovate in at least 22 states, the United Workers union said, noting that workers documented their claims on social media accounts. The union said it had filed unfair labor practice charges against Starbucks for changing its policy. Some of the strikes in the coming days are linked to that claim.
Not all stores that are about to strike have issues related to pride decor.
Parker Davis, a 21-year-old barista in San Antonio, Texas, Worked at a store that wasn’t involved in the controversy over its pride decor but would be part of the strike.
“A large percentage of my partners in the store are part of the LGBTQ community and feel that Starbucks’ continued attempts to limit or remove pride decorations are incompatible with the company’s past practices,” Davis said.
Davis told CNBC he expected several pickets, but said it was unclear whether stores would be able to open during the strike.
The public is divided on decorating to celebrate Pride month, with major brands including Target and Bud Light Designed to support the LGBTQ+ community. In both cases, the companies faced backlash from conservative consumers about working with or catering to trans people, and then saw backlash from more liberal consumers because they believed they respected critics.
In Oklahoma, after the recent attack at a Target store, workers were told the restrictions on decoration were due to safety concerns, the union said.
Starbucks workers also went on strike over claims that Starbucks was stalling in contract negotiations.
“A good-faith bargain looks like both sides are making proposals and trying to agree in the middle – something Starbucks is unwilling to do,” the Workers union said in a statement. Yes, we’ve had an economic proposal for more than a month, and Starbucks has failed to temporarily agree to a single line of the proposal or present a single counter-proposal. What Starbucks is doing is not a bargain.” , it’s stalling. “
Davis said the walkout “is important to me because it sends the message that we will not stand idly by while Starbucks continues to delay contract negotiations and continue to engage in union disruption.”
Starbucks has insisted that the workers’ union has so far responded to only a quarter of the more than 450 negotiating meetings Starbucks has proposed for individual stores across the country, and has said it is committed to advancing negotiations on the first contract.
The Roastery, where the strike began on Friday, was free of any controversy over pride decorating, but the solidarity was also striking.
Mari Cosgrove, a 28-year-old barista at the Seattle Roastery, told CNBC: “The Roastery wants to show its solidarity with all the workers in the company who have been discriminated against.”
“When those flags were taken down, frankly, it felt like an attack,” Cosgrove said. “The partners in these stores were really happy to be seen and feel like this was their community space. Proud to be the third, including its employees.”
More than 300 company-owned stores have voted to unionize since the application was first filed in August 2021, but Starbucks and the union have yet to agree on a contract.
Starbucks has more than 9,000 company-owned stores in the U.S.
— CNBC’s Amelia Lucas contributed to this report.