Members and supporters of Starbucks Staff United protest outside of a Starbucks store in Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 16, 2023.
Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images
Starbucks said it wants to resume contract talks with the union representing its baristas, starting in January.
Saturday marks the two-year anniversary of the primary unionization of company-owned Starbucks cafes in the U.S. Since then, greater than 360 locations have voted to unionize, representing about 4% of the corporate’s total U.S. company-owned footprint.
No locations have yet reached a contract with the corporate. The potential restart of talks could open a window to resolve a stalemate in one of the vital high-profile labor disputes in the U.S. in recent years.
The staff have pushed Starbucks to raise pay and fix what they call understaffing at cafes, amongst other demands.
Labor laws don’t require that the employer and union reach a collective bargaining agreement, only that each bargain in good faith. After a yr, employees who lose faith in the union can petition to decertify, putting a ticking clock on negotiations. At the very least 19 locations have filed petitions to decertify with the National Labor Relations Board, but seven have been dismissed related to rulings that Starbucks broke federal labor law.
Starbucks and the union, Starbucks Staff United, began talks greater than yr ago, but negotiations have been fraught. Each parties have accused the opposing side of failing to bargain in good faith.
Starbucks has insisted on face-to-face negotiations, with no representatives appearing via Zoom. The union has accused Starbucks of using that excuse as a stalling tactic.
“We collectively agree, the present impasse mustn’t be acceptable to either of us,” Sara Kelly, Starbucks’ chief partner officer, wrote in a letter addressed to Staff United International President Lynne Fox, which was obtained by CNBC. “It has not helped Starbucks, Staff United or, most significantly, our partners. On this spirit, we’re asking to your support and agreement to restart bargaining.”
Within the letter, Kelly also outlines several conditions to resume negotiations, including no audio or video recording or feeds.
If Staff United agrees, Starbucks hopes to begin talks again in January with a representative set of stores.
The union said it received the letter, is reviewing it and plans to respond.
“We have never said no to meeting with Starbucks. Anything that moves bargaining forward in a positive way is most welcome,” Fox said in an announcement to CNBC.
In November, Starbucks employees conducted their largest-ever labor motion, walking out at greater than 200 stores on Red Cup Day, one in all the chain’s busiest days of the yr. Starbucks Staff United said the strike resulted in one big change that baristas asked for: the power to turn off mobile orders during busy promotion days. Starbucks said the change to its mobile ordering system was already in the works before the demonstration.
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