Zohran Mamdani, the radical mayor-elect of New York City, is starting off with his first big move which is to boycott Starbucks. His far-left counterpart in Seattle is doing the same thing.
A strike began on November 13th across 65 stores, but the union is threatening to expand to 500 stores if Starbucks doesn’t sit down for negotiations.
Insider Reports
“Starbucks workers across the country are on an Unfair Labor Practices strike, fighting for a fair contract,” Zohran Mamdani claimed on X. “While workers are on strike, I won’t be buying any Starbucks, and I’m asking you to join us.”
The open-ended strike coincided with Red Cup Day, when the chain offers free reusable holiday cups to customers. Historically, it’s driven record sales for the company.
On Thursday, when the strike began, roughly 1,000 workers across 65 stores were expected to strike, according to the union.
The work stoppage could expand to more than 500 stores if negotiations do not resume, the union said in a statement on Thursday. In the US, Starbucks has 16,864 stores, according to its most recent earnings report.
The baristas (counter servers) want a “livable” wage for an unskilled job. If you have been to Starbucks, you know that the baristas fill coffee pots, pour coffee or lattes, and hand out the snacks. They likely clean the pots and stack the small snack area with goodies. That’s it.
So Far, the Strike Isn’t Going Anywhere
Starbucks spokesperson Jaci Anderson said the company is seeing “minimal impacts” on Thursday morning across its more than 17,000 U.S. coffeehouses. Less than 1% of the company’s stores are impacted by the strike, she noted.
In October, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol told “CBS Mornings” that the company has “the best benefits” and “the best wages” in the industry.
“What their requests to date have been, has been unreasonable,” Niccol said. “We’re willing to, you know, negotiate and have ’em come back to the table and find a solution.”
Starbucks said it offers the equivalent of $30 an hour in pay and employee benefits. However, Workers United claims that many workers aren’t getting enough hours to qualify for benefits. The union told CBS News that the starting wage for baristas is $15.25 in a majority of states.
“The reality is I make $17 an hour, and I live paycheck to paycheck,” said Starbucks barista and Chicago resident Diego Franco. “I can’t sustain myself on that. I can’t sustain my mom’s medical bills.”
Seriously Diego? You think you need more money for pouring coffee? You need to get training for a better job if you want to make more money.
How much do people think serving coffee is worth?
CBS Report
Starbucks Workers United announced last week that its members had voted to authorize a strike, with 92% of members backing a work stoppage.
“We are disappointed that Workers United, who only represents around 4% of our partners, has voted to authorize a strike instead of returning to the bargaining table,” Anderson told CBS News in a statement at the time. “When they’re ready to come back, we’re ready to talk.”
Contract talks between Starbucks and Workers United began in April 2024 but fell apart in December. The union says it has secured 33 tentative agreements from Starbucks, but maintains that the vast majority are non-economic proposals.
Sharon Block, a professor at Harvard Law School, told CBS News the fitful contract negotiations between Starbucks and its organized workforce highlight the weakness of federal labor law in bringing employers to the bargaining table.
“The law just seems to be incapable of ensuring a fair playing field for these workers who take big risks,” added Block, a former official in the federal Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs during the Biden administration.
Risks? What risks? They serve coffee and snacks, mostly coffee. Seriously, what are the big risks?
The strike marks the union’s third national work stoppage in the past year. Workers United last protested in May over Starbucks’ new dress code, and thousands also walked off the job in December 2024.
It’s very simple…FIRE THEM! We’re not talking rocket scientists here, they frigging make coffee. Horribly overpriced burnt coffee, but none the less.