Starbucks joins the list of companies hitting the picket line just in time for the holidays. Baristas started a five-day strike at stores in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle.

Starbucks Workers United is leading the protest. The union is calling out the company for backtracking on negotiations around better labor practices and wages.

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In a post on X, the union said, “Since February, Starbucks has repeatedly pledged publicly that they intended to reach contracts by the end of the year, but they’ve yet to present workers with a serious economic proposal.”

Since February, Starbucks has repeatedly pledged publicly that they intended to reach contracts by the end of the year – but they’ve yet to present workers with a serious economic proposal.

— Starbucks Workers United (@SBWorkersUnited) December 20, 2024

The conversation surrounding wages began in 2021 between the newly formed union and the coffee giant, with promises to reach an agreement by the end of 2024.

The union said despite Starbucks’ new CEO Brian Niccol having a salary of more than $100 million in the first year, the company hasn’t increased wages based on the value of its unionized employees.

“Union baristas know their value, and they’re not going to accept a proposal that doesn’t treat them as true partners,” Union President Lynne Fox said.

The company is offering an annual pay increase starting at 1.5% with a potential increase in the future. However, Workers United is countering that proposal. Starbucks said the union is asking to bump up the minimum wage for hourly workers by 64%.

Starbucks said it isn’t able to meet the demands of the union and the company’s benefit package is competitive with other businesses.

Workers currently earn about $18 an hour, but the company says benefits raise the total pay package to $30 an hour. Right now, Starbucks offers health care, paid family leave and free college tuition benefits to full-time employees.

Starbucks is asking the union to resume negotiations after talks were cut short when the it walked away from the bargaining table.

Of its 10,000 union workers, 98% voted for the strike, which could impact hundreds of locations right before the Christmas rush.

“We are aware of disruption at a small handful of stores, but the overwhelming majority of our U.S. stores remain open and serving customers as normal.”

Statement by Starbucks

Starbucks has more than 16,000 stores across the U.S. with at least 500 of those unionized.

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The strike comes just days after Niccol’s announcement to triple paid leave for birth parents. Starbucks will now offer up to 18 weeks of paid leave compared to the previous six weeks. The new benefit starts in March of 2025 for employees working at least 20 hours a week.