• by Tanya Gazdik , December 22, 2024

Just in time for the holiday rush, Starbucks and Amazon employees are striking in some cities.

“Starbucks workers have expanded their strike to four more U.S. cities, including New York, the union representing over 10,000 baristas said late on Saturday,” according to Reuters. “The five-day strike, which began on Friday and initially closed Starbucks cafes in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle, has added New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia and St. Louis, Workers United said in a statement. It did not say where the New Jersey walkout was occurring.”

The workers are trying to get the companies to recognize them as unionized employees or to meet demands for an inaugural labor contract.

“The union said the move is in response to the coffee chain's ‘failure to bring viable economic proposals to the bargaining table’ and ‘to resolve hundreds of outstanding unfair labor practice charges,’” according to NBC News. “The union, which started organizing in 2021, represents 525 union stores and over 10,500 union workers, according to its website. Starbucks has over 10,000 company-operated locations.”

The strikes follow other recent standoffs between corporate America and organized labor.

“Large and established labor unions secured meaningful employer concessions this year following strikes by Boeing factory workers, dockworkers at East and Gulf coast ports, video game performers, and hotel and casino workers on the Las Vegas Strip,” according to The Associated Press. “But workers at Starbucks, Amazon and some other prominent consumer brands still are fighting for their first contracts. Amazon refuses to acknowledge the organizing efforts of drivers and warehouse workers — many of whom have voted to unionize — even though the powerful Teamsters union says it represents them.”

The strikes, which started Thursday, expanded Saturday to a handful of other shipping and distribution centers. 

“Teamsters first announced that workers would strike in multiple states on Thursday,” according to The Hill. "Since then, individuals in Staten Island, N.Y., and San Bernardino, Calif., have joined the picket line. Additional areas with strikes include Georgia and Illinois.”

This week’s strike is the Teamsters’ largest action so far against Amazon. The union is demanding the company come to the bargaining table and negotiate a contract, according to The Washington Post.