500 Starbucks Locations Have Voted to Unionize. What Does That Mean for the Coffee Giant?

Image Courtesy of Starbucks

500 Starbucks Locations Have Voted to Unionize. What Does That Mean for the Coffee Giant?

October 2, 2024

Bernadette Giacomazzo

500 Starbucks locations have voted to unionize as they continue talking about wages with the coffee giant. But as more locations continue their fight, what does that mean for the company? Let’s take a look at what we know.

Starbucks Workers United Represents More Than 11,000 Workers

The 500th shop to join Starbucks Workers United is in Bellingham, Washington, and they joined the union on Monday, Sept. 30. Over 11,000 baristas have joined the union since the first store decided to unionize in 2021, according to a news statement that CNBC received.

“This milestone is a testament to workers building power from the ground up,” Lynne Fox, president of Workers United, said in a statement. “Starbucks partners have boldly demanded a voice on the job and with it, strong contracts that ensure respect, living wages, racial and gender equity, fair scheduling and more.”

The coffee giant is dedicated to engaging in good-faith negotiations with the union as the two parties attempt to negotiate a labor agreement, according to remarks previously made by CEO Brian Niccol, who took over as CEO last month. Individual stores and the firm would enter into collective bargaining agreements based on the framework they develop.

The Bellingham location’s baristas wrote Niccol a letter explaining why they were organizing. “Starbucks’ ultimate success in rebuilding hinges on whether we as baristas have the support we need to do our jobs well so that, in turn, we can ensure customers enjoy their Starbucks experience and keep coming back,” they wrote in the letter.

In a statement to CNBC, a spokesperson said, “We respect our partners’ rights to have a choice on the topic of unions,” adding that “we are proud of the progress we have made on bargaining and are committed to continuing to work together to achieve our shared goals.”

Coffee Giant Continues Talks

Back in May, the former CEO of the coffee giant, Laxman Narasimhan, claimed he was “in talks” with Workers United to understand the baristas’ needs.

“Specifically in our U.S. stores, we’re focused on creating a more stable environment for partners through investments in equipment innovation, process improvements, staffing, scheduling and waste reduction, all things our partners value and prioritize creating a more satisfying work environment in our stores while de-risking our business,” he said on a call to analysts, according to CNBC at the time.

Under the leadership of then-CEO Kevin Johnson, baristas started organizing under the Workers United flag in 2021. Although Workers United does not speak for every employee, more seem to be joining every day.

To meet the increasing demand for its products from customers, the union is battling for its baristas, who work in locations with inadequate staffing levels. About 8% of consumers at Starbucks during the last quarter waited 15 to 30 minutes for orders, as reported by Bloomberg. Comparatively speaking, before the pandemic, hardly anyone waited that long for their beverages.

Michelle Eisen, a Workers United delegate and original member of the company’s first organized union in Buffalo, said, “I think this is a new world right now to be able to say that the CEO has stepped up and said, ‘Look, we’ve got some problems, we know we’ve got some problems, we want to work towards fixing those problems.’ And as a worker at a unionized location, with proposals on the table to help solve these issues, that’s exactly what I want to hear.”

Recent News