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Naomi, a barista at the unionized Starbucks location in midtown Birmingham, told APR that she wants her “bare minimum needs” met by her job, but the latest pay increase is “just not gonna cut it.” Today will be her first time on strike ever as Starbucks Workers United tries to pressure the company into good faith negotiations with a five-day campaign.
Starbucks management recently announced that workers will only receive raises of two to three percent in 2025. The news raised the ire of many members of the union who compared it with the more than $110 million compensation package the CEO enjoys.
After 98 percent of SBWU members voted to authorize a strike last week, the union announced a five-day unfair labor practice strike on the 19th. Like the UAW’s Stand-Up Strike, and the ongoing Amazon strike, the Starbucks strike began with just a few stores and has expanded to more stores and more states with each day.
The union and management have been negotiating over a first contract since the company agreed to come to the bargaining table in February after a strike on “Red Cup Day” in November 2023. In October, APR spoke with several current and former Starbucks employees, including Naomi, about their hopes for the potential new contract.
But the SBWU says negotiations recently have hit a brick wall, with negative consequences for union members. Naomi explained that one of her main goals right now, which has been derailed by the delays in negotiating, is being able to afford a car. With a car, she told APR, she could pick up work at “more locations, more hours” in order to “make ends meet.”
Sara Kelly, one of Starbucks’ executive vice presidents, called the union’s proposals “not sustainable” in a recent statement. She said the SBWU “prematurely ended our bargaining session and refused to return to the bargaining table” but maintained the company would be “ready to continue negotiations to reach agreements as soon as Workers United meets us back at the bargaining table.”
On the union side, Naomi personally blames “Niccol coming into play” for the recent breakdown of negotiations. Brian Niccol, the new Starbucks CEO, was hired in September. Before then, he was the CEO of popular Mexican fast-casual chain, Chipotle.
Under Niccol’s tenure, Chipotle repeatedly drew criticism over alleged union-busting behavior, including shutting down a unionized store in Augusta, Maine. The company was ordered by the National Labor Relations Board last year to pay affected workers $240,000.
Naomi remains as optimistic about community support for the union as she was in October, saying both “workers and allies” will be walking the picket line today.
One of the groups that will be heading to the picket line in order to support the SBWU is the Birmingham Democratic Socialists of America. Julian G., the chair of the chapter’s Labor Working Group, told APR that walking the picket line alongside striking workers helps show workers’ power and make “the powers that be reconsider and come back to the table to act fairly and with respect.”
“Workers have been demoralized, de-powered with years and years of union-busting and just breaking down workers’ rights,” he stated.
Julian continued by saying that Starbucks Workers United “has been at the forefront of the revitalization of the labor movement,” praising the union’s statements on Palestinian liberation and ability to make Starbucks change its policies on things like credit card tips.
When asked why people should walk the picket line with the Starbucks workers today, Julian said that “this is where the rubber meets the road, this is where we as a people, as a class, are able to come together and show that we cannot be pushed around as workers and that we are to be respected as people.”
Naomi told APR that Alabamians who want to support Starbucks workers should abide by a “no contract, no coffee” rule. The SBWU has publicly requested that people refrain from patronizing Starbucks shops for the duration of the national strike.
Workers at the Birmingham Starbucks on 20th Street South will be on strike today between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.
