15-05-2025
Oklahoma City Starbucks employees walk out in protest of new dress code policy
Fifteen employees at an Oklahoma City Starbucks walked out of the store at North 36th and May Avenue to protest a new employee dress code policy implemented by the corporation. But it wasn't just about what color of shirts or pants they would be required to wear.
Workers believe the new policy diverts attention from the real issues the international coffee conglomerate needs to address, said Mikael Makoyii Mendez, a supervisor at the picketing Starbucks store. The Thursday, May 15, protest, Mendez said, is more about the three years of uncompromised discussions between unionized stores and corporate leaders, whose decisions they said directly impacted store workers negatively.
"There are problems in stores that the company needs to be focused on, but instead they've chosen to focus on a more restrictive dress code, which is just more difficult on its partners, because the company isn't spending any money," Mendez said. "It isn't doing anything, except giving gross amounts of money to its new CEO, and they, instead, have forced all its partners to be compliant with the dress code that requires them to buy more articles of clothing."
Employees started picketing at 8 a.m. and ended at 10:30 a.m. at 3616 N. May Ave. Mendez said the company sent four nonparticipating employees to man the store during those peak hours. Then, it closed.
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Picketers left the premises and were to return to work May 16.
The store was one of four unionized Starbucks stores in the metro area that joined the nationwide picket demanding better working conditions, starting with the revised dress code, confirmed Anna Carron, a spokesperson for Starbucks Workers United, the representing union.
The walkout also included the Starbucks at 132 NW 23rd St. in Oklahoma City, and 1601 24th Avenue NW and 3750 W. Robinson in Norman.
More: Starbucks workers are walking out over new dress code. How many are protesting and why?
USA TODAY reported over 1,200 Starbucks employees nationwide went on strike May 15 against an updated mandatory dress code policy that limited the number of colors staff could wear during working hours. The new policy requires employees to wear solid black shirts and black, khaki or denim bottoms, according to national news reports. It also provided workers two free black T-shirts to launch "a more defined color palette."
On April 14, Starbucks published a news release explaining the change that went into effect May 12 was needed to continue creating "a warm, welcoming environment" for customers and to increase brand recognition through the use of the company's "iconic green apron," which the corporation considers a symbol "representing hundreds of thousands of retail partners in North America who connect with customers every day."
Internal documents showed the corporation also prohibited facial piercings, gauges and certain footwear that Mendez said would unfairly impact certain workers.
"By updating our dress code, we can deliver a more consistent coffeehouse experience that will also bring simpler and clearer guidance to our partners, which means they can focus on what matters most, crafting great beverages and fostering connections with customers," the company stated in the release.
Although the company offered employees two free black T-shirts to use for work, Mendez said the company's new policies placed an unfair burden on employees to spend more money on clothing and appearance.
"It's not enough because they implemented this dress code change on May 12, and the shirts that they have provided all over the country have not even arrived yet for us to be able to wear them," they said. "And it's not just about shirts. It's pants. It's shoes. It's socks. It's jewelry. It's piercings, which some people have religious beliefs about."
Moreover, employees felt the company had prioritized the move without compromising with unionized employees who had been fighting to improve conditions for the last three years.
Mendez also wanted to fight against poor facility remodeling approved by corporate.
"We have limited space to work in," they said, adding that during peak hours, baristas often had to restock critical items, such as espresso beans, coffee beans, coffee filters and other similar items.
Employees need to do this in a short amount of time to get people moving quickly in and out of the door, they said. Starbucks "put everything that we need to immediately stock, like 15 feet up in the air, to where we have to get on a ladder during some of the busiest times of day to get the things we need to stock our stores," Mendez said.
Other issues shared by multiple stores across the country included short staffing, low wages and unreasonable business goals that put more strain on workers.
"There's no excuse for short staffing, and there's no excuse to be focused on making baristas spend their hard-earned money when we're already living paycheck to paycheck on something that doesn't need to be changed," Mendez said.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Starbucks dress code strike: OKC workers walk out in protest
