The union representing Starbucks baristas announced Tuesday that the strike against the Javanese giant has expanded to more than 300 stores, with about 10,000 coffeehouse workers walking off the job on Christmas Eve.
Since Friday, baristas in more than 50 cities, including New York, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Seattle and Chicago, have walked picket lines demanding better pay and working conditions.
It is unclear how much damage the suspension of operations has caused to Starbucks' operations.
A typical company-owned Starbucks store in the U.S. generates between $4,000 and $8,000 in revenue on a typical business day, according to company filings cited by The New York Times.
The number increases even more during the holiday season. According to the Times.
The strike is scheduled to end on Tuesday, and employees are scheduled to report to the store on Christmas Day.
Starbucks said earlier this week that the disruption caused by the strike would not have a material impact on its operations because only a small number of U.S. stores were affected.
The newspaper has contacted Starbucks and the union for comment.
The union that started the strike, Starbucks Workers United, represents employees at more than 500 of the company's stores, about 5% of the total number of stores operated in the United States.
In all, Seattle-based Starbucks operates more than 11,000 stores and employs approximately 200,000 people in the United States.
The company has so far rejected the union's demands as outrageous.
“Workers United's proposal calls for an immediate minimum wage increase of 64% for our hourly partners, and 77% during the three-year term,” Starbucks said in a statement over the weekend.
“This is not sustainable,” the coffee chain said.
The union denied management's claims.
“Starbucks' characterization of our proposal is false and misleading, and they know it,” said union bargaining representative Michelle Eisen, who has worked as a barista at Buffalo-area Starbucks for 14 years. ' he told the paper.
“We are ready to finalize the framework, which will include new investment in baristas, in the first year of the agreement.”
Negotiations between Starbucks and the union stalled over unresolved issues over wages, staffing and scheduling, leading to the strike.
Starbucks began negotiations with the union in April. This month, it announced that it had held more than eight negotiation sessions and reached agreements on 30 issues.
Starbucks says its employees now earn an average salary of more than $18 an hour, which with benefits is worth more than $30 an hour.
The company added that it was “ready to continue negotiations to reach an agreement.” “We need unions back to the table.”
with post wire
