Starbucks workers hold strike vote and plan for pickets to force first contract
Source: The Guardian
Union says world’s largest coffee chain engaged in bad faith bargaining and stonewalled over contract
Michael Sainato
Fri 31 Oct 2025 06.00 EDT
Unionized Starbucks workers across the US are casting their votes on whether to hold a strike amid anger over pay and conditions at the world’s largest coffee chain, and allegations it breached labor laws by engaging in bad faith bargaining.
Starbucks has faced a rapid wave of mobilization since 2021. Starbucks Workers United, a union representing baristas at the chain, has won elections at more than 650 of its locations in 45 states and the District of Columbia, representing more than 12,000 workers.
Butit has yet to obtain a contract. Starbucks Workers United claims company management started to “majorly stonewall” the union; Starbucks claims the union walked away from the bargaining table.
A strike authorization vote called by Starbucks Workers United began last Friday, 24 October, and will continue until Sunday 2 November. About 70 pickets have been planned in 60 cities across the US.
Starbucks baristas demand a new contract in New York City on Tuesday. Photograph: Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/oct/31/starbucks-workers-strike-vote