John,
RIGHT NOW, Starbucks baristas nationwide are on an unfair labor practice (ULP) strike — and today they’ve taken that fight to the company’s largest Regional Distribution Center in York, Pennsylvania, where dozens of baristas and hundreds of allies are rallying.
Workers are escalating their strike to expose how Starbucks is failing partners at every level. And they’re not doing this lightly.
Baristas are fed up. They’re doing whatever it takes because Starbucks has forced them to take drastic action in the face of ongoing unfair labor practices and bad-faith bargaining.
For more than 18 months, union baristas have been at the bargaining table, fighting for a fair contract. They’ve met for hundreds of hours and secured dozens of tentative agreements that would make their workplaces safer and more just.
But when workers brought serious economic proposals to raise wages, increase hours, and address chronic understaffing, Starbucks said no – and offered an unserious package that didn’t even raise wages in the first year or address basic issues of hours and staffing.
At the same time, Starbucks and CEO Brian Niccol have become the embodiment of corporate greed. While executives and those at the top keep getting richer – Niccol made nearly $96 million in just four months of work, 6,666 times what the average barista earns.
The National Labor Relations Board and its judges have found that Starbucks has committed more than 400 labor law violations. This year alone, the union has filed more than 125 unfair labor practice charges, including retaliatory firings, bad-faith bargaining, and illegal intimidation.
Across the country, billionaires and CEOs are raking in record profits on the backs of working people who are fighting just to survive.
But baristas are fighting back — and they’re giving hope to millions. Starbucks Workers United is the fastest-growing union movement of this century. From big cities to small towns, from university campuses to busy main streets, baristas and their allies are standing up and demanding dignity.
Executives cannot hide from their labor law violations. They cannot hide from their failure to finalize a fair contract with baristas. Anywhere Starbucks operates, we’ll be there reminding them that it’s working people who make their profits possible — from the distribution center to the coffee shop and everywhere in between.
I’m proud to stand with Starbucks baristas on ULP strike who are fighting for:
And while baristas are on strike, the best way to show support is simple: don’t buy Starbucks in solidarity. Together, we can send a powerful message: No contract, no coffee.
If you believe in fairness, dignity, and workers’ rights, I’m asking you to stand with these workers:
We know that our power is in our solidarity. An injury to one is an injury to all.
That’s why I’m proud to stand united with union baristas in their fight for a fair contract and an end to union-busting. I’m proud to join them on the picket line — and proud to say loud and clear:
I’m not buying Starbucks, and you shouldn’t either.
Until Starbucks ends its union-busting and signs a fair contract, no contract means no coffee.
Always with you in this fight,
— Summer Lee
