Starbucks strike in third month

The longest strike in the history of Starbucks has entered its third month. While some strikers have returned to work, including those at the Ohio stores, other workers have recently joined the strike. The three main demands — better hourly wages, better schedules and resolution of the hundreds of Unfair Labor Practice charges filed by Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) in response to the coffee chain’s egregious union busting — remain unmet.

Supporters are asked to keep honoring the picket lines and to sign the “No contract, no coffee” pledge. Picket line actions are scheduled for the next several months in seven states — California, Illinois,  New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington. To sign the pledge, or find a picket line go to nocontractnocoffee.org.

Solidarity events have ranged from leaflet distributions outside unorganized stores to letter-writing parties where supporters write letters to their local media to counter Starbucks’ propaganda.

The union organizing drive continues to push ahead, with the number of unionized stores now around 650. A new documentary, “Partners: How Starbucks Baristas Started a Labor Revolution,” that focuses on SBWU’s beginnings in Buffalo, New York, in 2021, is expected to be released this year.