Latest news with #StarbucksWorkersUnited
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Starbucks Is Beefing With Its Workers Over A New Dress Code
Starbucks is once again clashing with its workers — this time over the coffee chain's newly announced dress code. More than 2,000 baristas from over 100 stores have walked off the job since May 11 to protest the uniform requirements, according to the Starbucks Workers United union. Union members are furious that the company decided to impose a new dress code unilaterally — and frustrated that this comes as the corporate behemoth has yet to finalize a fair contract governing issues like wages and health benefits. Starbucks first unveiled the new dress code in a post on April 14, noting that the company would soon require staff to wear short or long-sleeve black shirts with khaki, black or blue bottoms to make the company's 'iconic green apron…shine.' That's a departure from past policy, which allowed employees to don a wider array of patterns and colors, and which had more flexibility on other fronts like shoes and piercings, the union says. Abiding by these requirements is costly, and the enforcement has been chaotic, some employees said. 'Starbucks is making us buy entirely new dress-code-compliant clothing,' Paige Summers, a Maryland-based shift supervisor who walked off on Monday, told HuffPost in a statement. 'Many of us can't afford a new wardrobe.' Starbucks said it would provide two company-branded shirts to each worker, though workers told USA Today that these have been slow to materialize. The walkouts, which involved baristas leaving their shifts midway through but returning the next day, are expected to continue into the weekend, Starbucks Workers United said. Starbucks, meanwhile, has dismissed the outcry as a distraction from broader negotiations the company and union are engaging in. '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,' Starbucks told HuffPost in a statement, adding that the protests involve a small fraction of the company's staff. 'It would be more productive if the union would put the same effort into coming back to the table to finalize a reasonable contract.' The walkouts over the new dress code add to a list of labor disputes the Seattle-headquartered chain has had with its workers. Starbucks and the union have been at an impasse after roughly a year of bargaining for a contract, with disagreements remaining on core issues, including an increase to the company's pay floor and policies for annual raises. 'Baristas are struggling to pay our bills and keep up with rising costs while [CEO Brian Niccol] made $800,000 a day in 2024. That's outrageous,' said barista Michelle Eisen when talks collapsed in April. This past December, Workers United filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, accusing Starbucks of negotiating in bad faith. It's since expanded that complaint to include workers' concerns with the new dress code as well.
Epoch Times
16-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
More Than 2,000 Starbucks Baristas Go On Strike to Protest New Dress Code
A strike by Starbucks baristas protesting the company's new dress code grew Thursday. More than 2,000 Starbucks baristas at 120 U.S. stores have gone on strike since Sunday to protest the new dress code, according to Starbucks Workers United, a union representing the coffee giant's U.S. workers. Starbucks put new limits starting Monday on what its baristas can wear under their green aprons. The dress code requires employees at company-operated and licensed stores in the U.S. and Canada to wear a solid black shirt and khaki, black or blue denim bottoms. Under the previous dress code, baristas could wear a broader range of dark colors and patterned shirts. Starbucks said the new rules would make its green aprons stand out and create a sense of familiarity for customers as it tries to establish a warmer, more welcoming feeling in its stores. But Starbucks Workers United, the union that represents workers at 570 of Starbucks' 10,000 company-owned U.S. stores, said the dress code should be subject to collective bargaining. 'Starbucks has lost its way. Instead of listening to baristas who make the Starbucks experience what it is, they are focused on all the wrong things, like implementing a restrictive new dress code,' said Paige Summers, a Starbucks shift supervisor from Hanover, Maryland. 'Customers don't care what color our clothes are when they're waiting 30 minutes for a latte.' Related Stories 4/30/2025 4/15/2025 Summers and others also criticized the company for selling styles of Starbucks-branded clothing that employees no longer are allowed to wear to work on an internal website. Starbucks said it would give two free black T-shirts to each employee when it announced the new dress code. On Wednesday, Starbucks Workers Union said a total of 1,000 workers had staged walkouts at 75 U.S. stores. Starbucks said at the time that the strike was having a limited impact on its 10,000 company-operated U.S. stores. In some cases the strikes closed stores for less than an hour, the company said. 'It would be more productive if the union would put the same effort into coming back to the table that they're putting into protesting wearing black shirts to work,' Starbucks said in a statement. 'More than 99 percent of our stores are open today serving customers—and have been all week.' Associated Press readers who shared their opinions had mixed views of the dress code. Some said they didn't think Starbucks' baristas had much to complain about, noting that many retailers require their workers to dress a certain way. Others said they thought Starbucks should focus on improving the quality and prices of its beverages, and keeping workers happy instead of worrying about what its employees wear. Maddie Mucklow, who manages a Starbucks store in Seattle, said she's in favor of the new rules. 'I'll be honest, I think the dress code was a difficult change for the partners at my store,' Mucklow said. 'But the dress code gives us a more consistent boundary for how to show up best for each other while still expressing our individuality.' Starbucks Workers United has been unionizing U.S. stores since 2021. Starbucks and the union have yet to reach a contract agreement, despite agreeing to return to the bargaining table in February 2024. The union said this week that it filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board alleging Starbucks' failure to bargain over the new dress code. By Dee-Ann Durbin
NBC News
16-05-2025
- Business
- NBC News
More than 2,000 Starbucks baristas go on strike to protest new dress code
A strike by Starbucks baristas protesting the company's new dress code grew Thursday. More than 2,000 Starbucks baristas at 120 U.S. stores have gone on strike since Sunday to protest the new dress code, according to Starbucks Workers United, a union representing the coffee giant's U.S. workers. Starbucks put new limits starting Monday on what its baristas can wear under their green aprons. The dress code requires employees at company-operated and licensed stores in the U.S. and Canada to wear a solid black shirt and khaki, black or blue denim bottoms. Under the previous dress code, baristas could wear a broader range of dark colors and patterned shirts. Starbucks said the new rules would make its green aprons stand out and create a sense of familiarity for customers as it tries to establish a warmer, more welcoming feeling in its stores. But Starbucks Workers United, the union that represents workers at 570 of Starbucks' 10,000 company-owned U.S. stores, said the dress code should be subject to collective bargaining. 'Starbucks has lost its way. Instead of listening to baristas who make the Starbucks experience what it is, they are focused on all the wrong things, like implementing a restrictive new dress code,' said Paige Summers, a Starbucks shift supervisor from Hanover, Maryland. 'Customers don't care what color our clothes are when they're waiting 30 minutes for a latte.' Summers and others also criticized the company for selling styles of Starbucks-branded clothing that employees no longer are allowed to wear to work on an internal website. Starbucks said it would give two free black T-shirts to each employee when it announced the new dress code. On Wednesday, Starbucks Workers Union said a total of 1,000 workers had staged walkouts at 75 U.S. stores. Starbucks said at the time that the strike was having a limited impact on its 10,000 company-operated U.S. stores. In some cases the strikes closed stores for less than an hour, the company said. 'It would be more productive if the union would put the same effort into coming back to the table that they're putting into protesting wearing black shirts to work,' Starbucks said in a statement. 'More than 99% of our stores are open today serving customers — and have been all week.' Starbucks Workers United has been unionizing U.S. stores since 2021. Starbucks and the union have yet to reach a contract agreement, despite agreeing to return to the bargaining table in February 2024. The union said this week that it filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board alleging Starbucks' failure to bargain over the new dress code.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
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. Get news like this in your inbox to start every day. Sign up for our free Daily Briefing newsletter. 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
Japan Today
15-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Today
More than 2,000 Starbucks baristas go on strike in U.S. to protest new dress code
By DEE-ANN DURBIN A strike by Starbucks baristas protesting the company's new dress code grew Thursday. More than 2,000 Starbucks baristas at 120 U.S. stores have gone on strike since Sunday to protest the new dress code, according to Starbucks Workers United, a union representing the coffee giant's U.S. workers. Starbucks put new limits starting Monday on what its baristas can wear under their green aprons. The dress code requires employees at company-operated and licensed stores in the U.S. and Canada to wear a solid black shirt and khaki, black or blue denim bottoms. Under the previous dress code, baristas could wear a broader range of dark colors and patterned shirts. Starbucks said the new rules would make its green aprons stand out and create a sense of familiarity for customers as it tries to establish a warmer, more welcoming feeling in its stores. But Starbucks Workers United, the union that represents workers at 570 of Starbucks' 10,000 company-owned U.S. stores, said the dress code should be subject to collective bargaining. 'Starbucks has lost its way. Instead of listening to baristas who make the Starbucks experience what it is, they are focused on all the wrong things, like implementing a restrictive new dress code,' said Paige Summers, a Starbucks shift supervisor from Hanover, Maryland. 'Customers don't care what color our clothes are when they're waiting 30 minutes for a latte.' Summers and others also criticized the company for selling styles of Starbucks-branded clothing that employees no longer are allowed to wear to work on an internal website. Starbucks said it would give two free black T-shirts to each employee when it announced the new dress code. Starbucks said Wednesday that the strike was having a limited impact on its 10,000 company-operated U.S. stores. In some cases the strikes closed stores for less than an hour, the company said. 'It would be more productive if the union would put the same effort into coming back to the table that they're putting into protesting wearing black shirts to work," Starbucks said in a statement. "More than 99% of our stores are open today serving customers — and have been all week.' Associated Press readers who shared their opinions had mixed views of the dress code. Some said they didn't think Starbucks' baristas had much to complain about, noting that many retailers require their workers to dress a certain way. Others said they thought Starbucks should focus on improving the quality and prices of its beverages, and keeping workers happy instead of worrying about what its employees wear. Starbucks Workers United has been unionizing U.S. stores since 2021. Starbucks and the union have yet to reach a contract agreement, despite agreeing to return to the bargaining table in February 2024. The union said this week that it filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board alleging Starbucks' failure to bargain over the new dress code. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
