NEW YORK – Starbucks Workers United held a rally in front of the Empire State Building on Thursday as its indefinite strike entered its third week and there were no signs of an imminent resolution.
Adding to the flood of holiday shoppers and tourists, several hundred picketers gathered outside the famous landmark, which is also the site of a swanky three-story Starbucks Reserve location and the company’s regional headquarters.
Members of other unions, like the AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union, affiliated with Workers United, demonstrated alongside the baristas, chanting “No coffee, no contract” and “What’s disgusting? Anti-unionism” between speakers.
“Their fight is really a fight for all of us, for workers across the country, for companies like Starbucks, across the country, for workers to be fed up with the status quo and to stop putting up with it,” SEIU President April Verrett told CNBC.
Twelve protesters were arrested for blocking the entrance to the building.
Baristas launched the strike last month on Starbucks Red Cup Day, seeking new proposals from the company that address their key issues in order to finalize a contract. These include improved hours, higher wages and the resolution of hundreds of unfair labor practice charges against Starbucks.
Of the 145 sites affected by the strike, 55 remain closed, according to a company spokesperson.
The two sides have not engaged in active negotiations to reach an agreement after negotiations broke down late last year. The strikes have not changed this reality so far.
Although the strike brought uncertainty during Starbucks’ busy holiday season, the company said its sales were not affected. CEO Brian Niccol told employees that Red Cup Day was the strongest in history.
A successful holiday season will be key to the chain’s turnaround under Niccol. Starbucks ended a nearly two-year streak of declining same-store sales in its most recent reported quarter. Past strikes have affected less than 1% of its stores, the company said.
The rally in New York comes after the company paid $38.9 million to settle violations of the city’s fair work week law. Other large catering employers, such as Chipotlehave already broken the law, which Starbucks says is “notoriously difficult” to deal with.
The city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection found that Starbucks had committed half a million violations of the law since 2021. The Fair Workweek Act requires a regular week-to-week schedule, requires schedules to be provided 14 days in advance, and states that hours cannot be reduced by more than 15% without legitimate business reasons.
DCWP Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga, who spoke at Thursday’s rally, said the timing of the record deal with the ongoing strike was a coincidence.
“While New York’s laws remain unchanged and complex, our goal has not changed: we are committed to creating the best jobs in retail and ensuring our practices comply with all laws,” Starbucks said in a statement.
The city’s current mayor, Eric Adams, and mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani rallied behind the strikers. Mamdani joined Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., alongside Brooklyn baristas earlier this week.
Starbucks and the union have blamed each other for failing to reach a bargaining agreement and say they are willing to talk when the other does. The two sides entered mediation in February and hundreds of barista delegates rejected the economic package proposed by Starbucks in April.
The company announced it would invest $500 million to improve the employee experience as part of its “Back to Starbucks” strategy. This investment includes upgrading its scheduling technology and adding more baristas to rosters.
“As we have said, 99% of our 17,000 U.S. locations remain open and welcoming customers – including many that the union publicly said would strike but never closed or have since reopened. Regardless of the union’s plans, we do not anticipate any significant disruption. When the union is ready to return to the bargaining table, we will be ready to talk,” spokeswoman Jaci Anderson said in a statement.