On the Picket Line

Starbucks workers picket at Minneapolis store for a contract

By Mary Martin
December 23, 2024

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Starbucks Workers United union members and their supporters held a “practice picket” Dec. 7 outside a Starbucks store here demanding bosses finally sign a contract.

Pickets shouted, “No contract, no coffee” and “What’s disgusting? Union busting,” while passing cars honked in support. Some store patrons and passersby also offered solidarity.

While reticent to give their names as they protested in front of the store where they work, some pickets told the Militant that as the year draws to a close and negotiations with the coffee giant grind on, the company hasn’t made good on its promise to settle contracts with the union by the end of this year.

In 2021 workers at a Starbucks store in Buffalo, New York, formed Starbucks United Workers and voted to demand a contract. Since then, some 12,000 workers at over 500 stores have joined them, including at 150 stores this year.

Workers told the Militant that they hoped a union contract could resolve critical issues workers face — insufficient hours leading to loss of health care insurance benefits, arbitrary scheduling, and outstanding tips customers paid by credit card that were never turned over by the company.