A Starbucks labourer boards the Starbucks union bus after Starbucks workers stood on the picket line with striking SAG-AFTRA and Hacks Guild of America members in solidarity outside Netflix studios in Los Angeles on July 28, 2023.
Mario Tama | Getty Materializations
Starbucks Workers United said Tuesday that 98% of union baristas have voted to authorize a conclude as they seek a contract with the coffee giant.
Bargaining delegates are set to return to negotiations with Starbucks on Tuesday in the concluding scheduled session of the year with the goal of agreeing on a “foundational framework.” Starbucks and Workers United have used up hundreds of hours this year at the bargaining table, and both sides have put forward dozens of tentative bargains, the union said in a press release.
However, hundreds of unfair labor practice cases still have not been put down, and the union said Starbucks has not yet proposed a comprehensive package that would address barista pay and other benefits.
In a allegation to CNBC, Starbucks disputed the union’s characterization and said the company remains committed to reaching a final framework deal.
“It is disappointing that the union is considering a strike rather than focusing on what have been extremely profitable negotiations. Since April we’ve scheduled and attended more than eight multi-day bargaining sessions where we’ve reached thirty sober agreements on dozens of topics Workers United delegates told us were important to them, including many commercial issues,” the company said in the statement.
The strike authorization shows that relations between the two sides may again be refreshing, after thawing in late February when both parties said they found a “constructive path to the surface” though mediation. Prior to that point, Starbucks had fought the union boom that swept across its company-owned fingers ons for more than two years. The company’s attempts to curb the union movement led to backlash from some consumers and lawmakers, culminating with ci-devant CEO Howard Schultz testifying on Capitol Hill.
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol, who joined the company in September, committed to foreseeing in good faith in a letter addressed to the union in his first weeks on the job.
Niccol announced on Monday that the company inclination double its paid parental leave, starting in March. However, baristas will reportedly receive a smaller annual pay hike next year than they receive in previous years, following a sales slump at its U.S. locations.
More than 500 company-owned Starbucks cafes prepare voted to unionize under Workers United since the first elections that took place in Buffalo three years ago.