Starbucks workers’ union expands strike to more stores on Black Friday

People picket at a Starbucks in New York, as striking workers call for a union contract. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

The Starbucks workers’ union said on Friday it has expanded its indefinite strike demanding better pay and staffing to more than 120 stores from 65, while the coffee chain said the strike has had no major impact on its operations.

The walkout, set to be the longest strike in the history of Starbucks, began on Red Cup Day on Nov. 13 at 65 stores in more than 40 cities. The escalation comes on Black Friday, the busiest time of the year for retailers.

Starbucks, however said 99 per cent of its U.S. locations are open and only 55 of the more than 17,000 coffeehouses were closed due to the strike on Black Friday.

“Regardless of the union’s plans, we do not anticipate any meaningful disruption,” a company spokesperson said, adding that it was staffing with members on store rosters. The union said that it was striking at 120 locations.

Striking baristas are demanding higher wages, improved working hours and the resolution of hundreds of unfair labor practice charges for union busting.

Contract talks remain stalled despite mediation efforts in February, with both sides trading blame after delegates rejected Starbucks’ proposed package in April that guaranteed annual raises of at least two per cent.

“The law allows management to hire replacements in this kind of strike, so the workers just don’t have a lot of leverage,” Harry Katz, a professor at the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations, said.

A long-term strike will likely impact public relations, but “in light of market volatility caused by tariffs and other factors, Starbucks would want to make this a short-term affair,” said Michael Duff, a professor at the Saint Louis University School of Law.

Unionized workers also went on strike at Amazon warehouses in Germany on Black Friday, aiming to disrupt operations on a key sales day as they push for a collective bargaining agreement, with separate protests also planned outside Zara stores in Spain.

Starbucks Workers United, which represents 11,000 baristas and about 550 stores, has repeatedly targeted the company’s busy holiday season and Red Cup Day, when Starbucks hands out reusable red holiday-themed cups to customers for free on coffee purchases.

(Reporting by Chandni Shah and Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Arun Koyyur)