Tell Starbucks Customers “No Contract, No Coffee”

On November 13, Starbucks Workers United announced an open-ended strike citing unfair labor practices at Starbucks.

Starbucks baristas are continually ratcheting up the pressure, even picketing at the largest distribution center in the country in York, PA:

During the action, SBWU member Silvia Baldwin announced: “As of now, our union, Starbucks Workers United, has the facility under a full blockade.”

These brave baristas are putting their bodies on the line, against one of the richest corporations in the world. Can you join them to flyer outside a Starbucks near you and make sure Starbucks customers know No Contract, No Coffee?

So long as Starbucks corporate refuses to negotiate, this strike will only grow.

For over six months, Starbucks has stonewalled union baristas by refusing to put forth new proposals to address their core demands:

1. Better hours to improve staffing in our stores. Understaffing is rampant, leading to longer wait times as customer orders stream in. Yet too many baristas still aren’t getting enough hours to pay the bills or meet the threshold for benefits. Starbucks needs to invest in increasing barista hours.
2. Higher take-home pay. Too many baristas struggle to get by, while executives make millions. Starbucks needs to put more money toward barista’s take-home pay.
3. Resolution for hundreds of outstanding unfair labor practice charges for union busting. The coffee giant has committed more labor law violations than any employer in modern history. Starbucks needs to fully resolve legal issues impacting baristas.

This movement is bigger than just coffee shops. For decades, American unionization has shrunk while inequality grew. It’s no surprise that a company as wealthy as Starbucks doesn’t believe laws apply to them. Starbucks has the largest CEO-to-worker pay gap in the country, with CEO Brian Niccol earning 6,666 times the average barista’s salary.

Starbucks has priced in the reputational cost of being protested by their own workers. Where we can show power is when customers (or potential customers!) join the baristas in a united front. That’s what will scare Starbucks back to the bargaining table.

This fight could be a turning point for our country’s economic future. But it’s going to take all of us getting involved.

Show up for Starbucks Workers United! Spread the word and make sure every potential Starbucks customer knows: “No Contract, No Coffee!”

When we fight together, we will win.

In solidarity,

The Labor Force