Latest news with #PhilGee
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Starbucks Workers Go on Strike to Protest New Dress Code
More than 1,000 Starbucks baristas from 75 locations in the U.S. have initiated a strike on Sunday in response to a new dress code implemented by the company, a union representing the coffee giant's employees reported on Wednesday. As of Monday, the company has simplified its dress code to highlight its signature green apron. According to the coffee chain's updated policy, baristas can wear any black shirt, whether short- or long-sleeved, collared or button-up, paired with khaki, black or blue denim pants. Starbucks previously said it would provide two branded T-shirts for staff members at no cost. More from WWD East Coast Port Strike Suspended as ILA, USMX Agree on Wages; Retailers Rejoice East and Gulf Coast Ports Strike as ILA, USMX Fail to Reach New Deal Dunhill Celebrates 130 Years With a Very English Dinner Party The new dress code affects employees at company-operated and licensed stores in the U.S. and Canada. In April, Starbucks Workers United sent a letter to the Seattle-based coffee maker as 'a formal request that no change to the current dress code be implemented at Union-represented stores until the parties conclude bargaining.' On Wednesday, Starbucks said that the strike was affecting its 10,000 company-operated stores in the U.S. to a limited extent. Phil Gee, a Starbucks spokesperson said, 'Thousands of Starbucks partners (employees) came to work today ready to serve their customers and communities. The biggest update to our dress code is simple: wear a black shirt — either your own or one we provide. Workers United represents less than 5 percent of our workforce [– 570 of 10,000-plus stores.]' The spokesperson said, 'While the union is focused on a simplified dress code, we're focused on providing the best job in retail with a wage and benefits package that averages more than $30 per hour for hourly partners. It would be more productive if the union would put the same effort into coming back to the table to finalize a reasonable contract.' Less than 1 percent of Starbucks stores have experienced any disruption over the last 4 days cumulatively, according to the company. Starbucks and Workers United are said to have held more than nine bargaining sessions over 20 days and three mediation sessions over five days with a federal mediator since last April. Starbucks has reached 30-plus 'meaningful agreements about hundreds of topics' that Workers United delegates told the company were important to them, according to the spokesman. According to AP, Starbucks Workers United said it filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. Best of WWD The Strategic Rise of Models at the Cannes Film Festival: Glamour, Fashion Brands and Media Millions Cannes Film Festival's Sheer Dresses on the Red Carpet Through the Years: Sophia Loren, Bella Hadid & More [PHOTOS] Celebrities Wearing Zara: From Melania Trump's Controversial Coat to Kate Middleton's Blazer Collection [PHOTOS]
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Starbucks workers, supporters arrested in protest for union contract
Nearly three years after the first Starbucks baristas in Chicago unionized, 11 workers and supporters were arrested by Chicago police after staging a sit-in inside one of the first union Starbucks cafes in the city on Tuesday. Starbucks workers said they wanted to put pressure on the Seattle-based coffee giant to finalize a contract with the union on the eve of the company's annual shareholder meeting scheduled Wednesday. The baristas' union, Starbucks Workers United, now represents about 11,000 workers at more than 500 stores across the country. But more than three years after the first Starbucks baristas unionized in Buffalo, New York, the coffee workers have yet to reach a first collective bargaining agreement with the company. On Tuesday, workers at the Edgewater store went on strike along with baristas at stores in Seattle and Pittsburgh, according to the union. It was not clear whether arrests were made in connection with the strikes in other cities. Workers at the union-represented 5964 N. Ridge Ave. packed the cafe with supporters before calling a strike Tuesday, walking out of the Edgewater store and picketing outside it. While some workers spoke to supporters and press outside the cafe, about a dozen demonstrators, who organizers said included current Starbucks workers, former Starbucks workers and community allies, stayed inside the store. 'Fair contract now,' read a banner the demonstrators displayed from the inside of the cafe. Chicago police officers entered the cafe soon after the demonstration began, appearing to prepare to detain the protestors, who could be heard singing the union anthem 'Solidarity Forever.' One of the protesters inside the cafe was the Rev. CJ Hawking, executive director of the workers' center Arise Chicago. Police officers escorted protestors out of the cafe in handcuffs, before driving them away from the store in police vehicles. Chicago police later confirmed that 11 people had been taken into custody and arrested for criminal trespass 'on signed complaints from an affected business.' Phil Gee, a spokesperson for Starbucks, did not comment directly on the arrests Tuesday, but said in a statement that the company respects baristas' rights to take part in 'lawful strike activity.' 'We have made progress over the last nine months of bargaining, and we are committed to continuing to work together – with a mediator's assistance – to navigate complex issues and reach fair contracts,' Gee said. RJ Simandl, a shift supervisor on strike at the Starbucks at 5964 N. Ridge Ave. who did not participate in the sit-in, said workers and allies chose to risk arrest Tuesday 'to send the message to our shareholders that we're done messing around.' 'It's time for them to put their money where it matters,' said Simandl, who has been a part of the union campaign in Chicago since it took root here three years ago. 'We're out here trying to make some noise to get them to listen to us yet again.' The Starbucks campaign has been perhaps the most visible borne during the wave of new union organizing that swept the country during the COVID-19 pandemic, with workers in industries like food service and retail that were historically thought of as difficult to organize choosing to sign union cards in hopes of bargaining with their employers for improved wages and working conditions. Business | Starbucks baristas go on strike in several Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles stores Business | Starbucks baristas escalate strike on Christmas Eve Business | Starbucks lays off 1,100 corporate employees as coffee chain streamlines Starbucks has been accused by federal regulators of violating labor law hundreds of times throughout the rancorous union campaign; the company has consistently denied allegations of law-breaking. Last February, it appeared the company and union had reached a detente, agreeing to come together to finalize a first contract and resolve their legal disputes. But that agreement broke down late in the year, with Starbucks Workers United launching a wide-reaching national strike at hundreds of union cafes around the country shortly before Christmas, including in Chicago. The union said Starbucks had offered union baristas a wage package that would include no immediate raises and a guaranteed increase of only 1.5% a year in future years. Starbucks, in turn, accused the union of walking away from the bargaining table prematurely. In January, the two parties said they had agreed to bring in a mediator to help reach a deal.
Chicago Tribune
11-03-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Starbucks workers, supporters arrested in protest for union contract
Nearly three years after the first Starbucks baristas in Chicago unionized, 11 workers and supporters were arrested by Chicago police after staging a sit-in inside one of the first union Starbucks cafes in the city on Tuesday. Starbucks workers said they wanted to put pressure on the Seattle-based coffee giant to finalize a contract with the union on the eve of the company's annual shareholder meeting scheduled Wednesday. The baristas' union, Starbucks Workers United, now represents about 11,000 workers at more than 500 stores across the country. But more than three years after the first Starbucks baristas unionized in Buffalo, New York, the coffee workers have yet to reach a first collective bargaining agreement with the company. On Tuesday, workers at the Edgewater store went on strike along with baristas at stores in Seattle and Pittsburgh, according to the union. It was not clear whether arrests were made in connection with the strikes in other cities. Workers at the union-represented 5964 N. Ridge Ave. packed the cafe with supporters before calling a strike Tuesday, walking out of the Edgewater store and picketing outside it. While some workers spoke to supporters and press outside the cafe, about a dozen demonstrators, who organizers said included current Starbucks workers, former Starbucks workers and community allies, stayed inside the store. 'Fair contract now,' read a banner the demonstrators displayed from the inside of the cafe. Chicago police officers entered the cafe soon after the demonstration began, appearing to prepare to detain the protestors, who could be heard singing the union anthem 'Solidarity Forever.' One of the protesters inside the cafe was the Rev. CJ Hawking, executive director of the workers' center Arise Chicago. Police officers escorted protestors out of the cafe in handcuffs, before driving them away from the store in police vehicles. Chicago police later confirmed that 11 people had been taken into custody and arrested for criminal trespass 'on signed complaints from an affected business.' Phil Gee, a spokesperson for Starbucks, did not comment directly on the arrests Tuesday, but said in a statement that the company respects baristas' rights to take part in 'lawful strike activity.' 'We have made progress over the last nine months of bargaining, and we are committed to continuing to work together – with a mediator's assistance – to navigate complex issues and reach fair contracts,' Gee said. RJ Simandl, a shift supervisor on strike at the Starbucks at 5964 N. Ridge Ave. who did not participate in the sit-in, said workers and allies chose to risk arrest Tuesday 'to send the message to our shareholders that we're done messing around.' 'It's time for them to put their money where it matters,' said Simandl, who has been a part of the union campaign in Chicago since it took root here three years ago. 'We're out here trying to make some noise to get them to listen to us yet again.' The Starbucks campaign has been perhaps the most visible borne during the wave of new union organizing that swept the country during the COVID-19 pandemic, with workers in industries like food service and retail that were historically thought of as difficult to organize choosing to sign union cards in hopes of bargaining with their employers for improved wages and working conditions. Starbucks has been accused by federal regulators of violating labor law hundreds of times throughout the rancorous union campaign; the company has consistently denied allegations of law-breaking. Last February, it appeared the company and union had reached a detente, agreeing to come together to finalize a first contract and resolve their legal disputes. But that agreement broke down late in the year, with Starbucks Workers United launching a wide-reaching national strike at hundreds of union cafes around the country shortly before Christmas, including in Chicago. The union said Starbucks had offered union baristas a wage package that would include no immediate raises and a guaranteed increase of only 1.5% a year in future years. Starbucks, in turn, accused the union of walking away from the bargaining table prematurely. In January, the two parties said they had agreed to bring in a mediator to help reach a deal.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Two more Starbucks locations in Minnesota move to unionize
Workers at two more Minnesota Starbucks locations have filed for a union election. Baristas at locations in Roseville and St. Cloud are looking to join the union, which includes more than 11,000 workers across 540 Starbucks locations in 45 states, per Starbucks Workers United. The move follows closely on the heels of a nationwide strike at more than 300 Starbucks locations on Christmas Eve. The strike was aimed at calling out what workers believe to be unfair labor practices from the massive coffee chain. The workers at Hwy 36 and Fairview Avenue in Roseville and 2nd Street and 6th Avenue in St. Cloud filed for unionization in late January, looking for protections on wages, racial and gender equity, and "fair scheduling." Their vote is expected to take place in the coming weeks, reports Workday Magazine. 'Our store has become a high-stress environment due to excessive pressure on drive times and the lack of respect or recognition for partners' hard work," Dijah Abushagor, an employee at the Roseville store, said in a statement. "Unionizing would give us the collective power to demand fair treatment, a healthier work environment, and the respect we deserve." Starbucks says it will respect employees "right to choose," spokesperson Phil Gee tells Bring Me The News in a written statement. The concerns of employees across the country have led the union to file more than 90 unfair labor practice (ULP) charges "after the company backtracked on the path forward it agreed to over the future of organizing and collective bargaining," the union says. In early January, Starbucks Workers United filed 36 ULP charges for retaliatory firings. Later in the month, the union filed 55 more ULP charges "for illegally changing workplace rules without bargaining." Those followed December ULP charges against the company for what the union characterizes as refusing to bargain. In the January filings, the union alleges that the coffee giant has selectively enforced "rules for minor infractions as an excuse to terminate baristas in retaliation for union support." The December and January ULP filings are the first legal challenges the union has presented against Starbucks since March of last year. The company says the union's allegations are "baseless." "Taking time to file such claims is a tactic that brings distraction from the progress we could be making," Gee says. "We are ready to continue negotiations when the union is ready to return to the bargaining table they walked away from. Both parties have agreed to engage a mediator to assist in reaching a framework for single-store contracts for our partners represented by the union." If the Roseville and St. Cloud locations vote in favor of unionization, it would make for 12 unionized Starbucks locations in the state.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Employees at San Diego Starbucks location seek to join union
(FOX5/KUSI) — Starbucks employees at a San Diego location filed a petition on Monday with the National Labor Relations Board, initiating the unionization voting process among existing employees. Employees at a Starbucks in Stonecrest Plaza, located inside a grocery store, filed the petition. A statement from Starbucks Workers United said that the unionization efforts seek better protections on living wages, respect for racial and gender equity, and fair scheduling. Starbucks spokesperson Phil Gee said in a statement to 'At Starbucks, our success starts and ends with our partners (employees). We respect our partners' right to choose, through a fair and democratic process, to be represented by a union or not to be represented by a union and will continue to work together to make Starbucks the best job in retail.' Lineup revealed for San Diego's Holo Holo Music Festival The filing with the NLRB lists 13 employees, and the unionization vote will include all full-time and regular part-time baristas and shift supervisors and will exclude all managers, supervisors and office staff. When the vote happens, employees will have the opportunity to choose to join Starbucks Workers United, which is affiliated with Workers United. In December of 2024, a five-day strike by thousands of Starbucks employees nationwide led to the temporary closure of dozens of locations. According to this week's statement from Starbucks Workers United, the union and the company are set to return to bargaining soon with a mediator present. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
