Posts tagged Starbucks
Union Now Is America’s New Strike Fund
April 20, 2026 // The American labor movement will soon have something it’s never had before: a centralized strike fund. Union Now, the new nonprofit and brainchild of Association of Flight Attendants-CWA International President Sara Nelson, began officially fundraising at a kickoff rally on Sunday, April 12th, in Manhattan. National leaders of the Democratic left were there in support; both Bernie Sanders and Zohran Mamdani made rousing speeches, which suggests that the supporters Union Now hopes to enlist will go beyond those who are already union activists.
‘Power in the hands of people’: union leaders push to revive ailing US labor movement
April 15, 2026 // Leaders of some of the largest unions in the US have unveiled a drive to jumpstart the country’s ailing labor movement and combat growing wealth inequality under Donald Trump. To make it easier for workers to join a union, and strengthen the hand of new unions negotiating with powerful businesses, a string of prominent organizers joined together to launch Union Now, a non-profit designed to increase labor union density.
Apple to shutter its first unionized US store in Maryland
April 12, 2026 // The iPhone maker described the decision as "difficult", citing the departure of several retailers and worsening conditions at the Towson Town Center mall as key reasons for the closure. Apple said Towson employees will be eligible to apply for open roles at the company. In 2022, more than 100 Apple workers in Towson voted to join the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM) union, marking a milestone for unionization at major U.S. corporations such as Amazon.com (AMZN.O), opens new tab and Starbucks (SBUX.O), opens new tab.
The Disillusioned College Grads Turning to the Labor Movement
April 10, 2026 // The fate of the college-educated working class is probably worse than most people assume. In one darkly hilarious detail from Scheiber’s book, he notes in a chapter about “salts” (people who intentionally go to work at a company in order to promote unionization) that one of these college-educated salts at Starbucks is actually making his highest wage ever there. When Starbucks is the best-paying job you’ve ever had with a college degree, something is truly wrong.
The fight continues: a look at union efforts in Washington state
April 10, 2026 // A Washington state cleaning company that receives hundreds of thousands in taxpayer dollars, is in negotiations with its unionized workers over the employees’ contract.
After months-long barista strike, Starbucks to resume bargaining with SBWU union
March 26, 2026 // Over 14,000 unionized baristas are demanding higher pay, better staffing and for Starbucks to resolve over 600 unfair labor practice charges that SBWU has filed with the National Labor Relations Board. The union has dialed back its pay increase demands since going on strike over four months ago. It’s now asking for a minimum hourly wage of $17 per hour, down from $20 per hour in November, and 4% annual pay raises, instead of 5%.
After Nearly Three Months, NYC Starbucks Workers Quietly End Strike
February 9, 2026 // Starbucks workers at 10 unionized New York City stores quietly returned to work on Thursday, ending their nearly three-month strike after failing to force management back to the bargaining table for a first contract. Workers in more than 85 cities nationwide have walked off the job since Nov. 13 in what the union called a “Red Cup Rebellion,” to protest the company’s alleged refusal to finalize a collective bargaining agreement with their union, Starbucks Workers United.
Starbucks defends union organizer’s firing before Fifth Circuit
February 3, 2026 // The NLRB found that Starbucks illegally fired James Schenk, a shift supervisor at a Starbucks store in the Albany, New York, area who in 2021 and 2022 helped lead a campaign to unionize the store. Starbucks fired Schenk in August 2022 after he opened a letter from the NLRB addressed to the store. But the board found that his termination, as well as previous disciplinary actions for sending profane messages in an employee Snapchat group and failing to complete four assigned tasks by the end of a shift, were retaliation for his union activism.
Majority of Starbucks’ striking baristas are returning to work
December 30, 2025 // At the end of last week, the union informed us that partners at 166 of the 215 coffeehouses on their strike list would like to unconditionally return to work, meaning they are ready to return under the current terms of their employment," Kelly wrote. While some employees will resume their roles, about 25% will continue to strike, the union said, adding that the timeline for the strike is open-ended, with a number of workers ready to join the picket line in January if progress hasn't been made. Read more at: https://www.mahoningmatters.com/news/business/article313938985.html#storylink=cpy
32 cited for trespassing during protest at Minden Starbucks plant
December 17, 2025 // 32 people are facing trespassing charges after protesting at a Starbucks Roasting Plant in Minden. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office says that around 5:40 a.m. on Monday, protestors arrived at the facility, around 30 of whom began blocking the main truck entrance to the facility. Around 75 protestors were on Starbucks property at the time, according to the DCSO.