Starbucks Workers United union holds NYC rally during strike

NEW YORK — Starbucks Workers United held a rally outside the Empire State Building on Thursday as its open-ended strike entered its third week and no signs of an impending resolution.

Adding to the crunch of holiday shoppers and tourists, several hundred picketers gathered outside of the famous landmark, which is also the site of a swanky three-floor Starbucks Reserve location and the company’s regional headquarters.

Members of other unions, like the AFL-CIO and Service Employees International Union, which is affiliated with Workers United, protested alongside baristas, chanting “No coffee, no contract” and “What’s disgusting? Union busting” between speakers.

“Their fight is a fight really for all of us, to workers across the country, to corporations like Starbucks, across the country that workers are fed up with the status quo, and they’re not going to take it anymore,” SEIU President April Verrett told CNBC.

Twelve demonstrators were arrested for blocking the building’s entrance.

Baristas launched the strike on Starbucks Red Cup Day last month, seeking new proposals from the company that address its top issues to finalize a contract. Those include improved hours, higher wages and the resolution of hundreds of unfair labor practice charges levied against Starbucks.

Out of the 145 locations involved in the strike, 55 remain closed, according to a company spokesperson.

The two parties have not been in active negotiations to reach a contract after talks between them fell apart late last year. The strikes have not changed that fact so far.

While the strike has injected uncertainty into Starbucks’ busy holiday season, the company has said its sales haven’t been affected. CEO Brian Niccol told employees that Red Cup Day was its strongest in history.

A successful holiday season will be key to the chain’s turnaround under Niccol. Starbucks broke a nearly two-year streak of same-store sales declines in its most recently reported quarter. Past strikes have impacted less than 1% of its stores, the company said.

The New York City rally comes after the company paid $38.9 million to settle violations of the city’s Fair Workweek Law. Other large restaurant employers, like Chipotle, have previously run afoul of the law, which Starbucks said is “notoriously challenging” to navigate.

The city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection found Starbucks committed half a million violations of the law since 2021. The Fair Workweek law requires regular scheduling week to week, mandates schedules be provided 14 days in advance and says hours cannot be reduced by more than 15% without legitimate business reasons.

DCWP Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga, who spoke at Thursday’s rally, said the timing of the record-breaking settlement with the ongoing strike was coincidental.

“While the NYC laws remain unchanged and complex, our focus hasn’t shifted – we’re committed to creating the best job in retail and to ensuring our practices follow all laws,” Starbucks said in a statement.

The city’s current Mayor Eric Adams and Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani have rallied behind striking workers. Mamdani joined Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., alongside baristas in Brooklyn earlier this week.

Both Starbucks and the union have pointed blame at the other for failing to reach a bargaining agreement and maintain they are ready to speak when the other is. The two parties entered into mediation in February, and hundreds of barista delegates voted down the economic package Starbucks proposed in April.

The company has said it is investing $500 million to improve the employee experience as part of its “Back to Starbucks” strategy. That investment includes upgrading its scheduling technology and adding more baristas to rosters.

“As we’ve said, 99% of our 17,000 U.S. locations remain open and welcoming customers —including many the union publicly stated would strike but never closed or have since reopened. Regardless of the union’s plans, we do not anticipate any meaningful disruption. When the union is ready to return to the bargaining table, we’re ready to talk,” spokesperson Jaci Anderson said in a statement.