ANTHONY, Minn. — At the Starbucks workers’ picket line here Nov. 14, picket captain Abby Haland told the Militant, “Starbucks jobs aren’t livable without winning a contract. Low wages and lack of benefits mean many of us work two jobs and are on food stamps.”
Over 1,000 members of Starbucks Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, went on strike at 65 stores in more than 40 cities across the country Nov. 13, including here. The union chose that date because Starbucks bosses had set it as Red Cup Day, an annual giveaway and one of their busiest days of the year. This meant strikers could reach a larger audience. Their slogan is, “No contract, no coffee!”
“There is no system in place to guarantee hours,” Haland said. “It depends on the manager, but they can keep our schedules at 19 hours a week, just below the point where we could receive benefits. Starbucks knows what our demands are and needs to come back and negotiate.”
The union represents 9,500 workers at 550 of Starbucks’ 10,000 stores. Strike demands include a signed contract with higher wages, more scheduled hours per week, and an end to bosses’ attacks on the union.
Starbucks had pledged in 2023 to sign contracts at all unionized stores by the end of the next year. But then in September 2024 a new CEO, Brian Niccol, was brought in and closed hundreds of shops, including 59 where workers had voted to unionize.
Niccol claims the company has the best benefits and pays the highest wages in the industry and that the union’s demands are “unreasonable.”
In press statements Starbucks workers and their union representatives tell a different story. According to Forbes magazine, the average starting wage is just $15.25 an hour in most states and the majority of the workers are kept under 20 hours a week to save the company from having to pay for benefits.
“We have won incredible support from people in the community who know we need decent wages to pay our bills,” Haland said. “So, let’s win this contract!”
The strike is ongoing. Go and show your solidarity!