The strike by Starbucks baristas, who protested the company’s new dress code, grew up on Thursday.
More than 2,000 Starbucks baristas of 120 US stores have been on strike since Sunday to protest the new dress code, according to Starbucks Workers United, a union representing American workers for the coffee giant.
Starbucks has put new restrictions on what its baristas can wear under a green apron starting Monday. Dress code requires employees in stores operated and licensed by US and Canadian companies to wear black shirts and khaki, black or blue denim bottoms.
Under the previous dress code, baristas were able to wear a wider range of darker colors and patterns. Starbucks said the new rules will create friendliness for customers as they try to highlight the green apron and establish a warmer, more welcoming feel in the store.
But Starbucks Workers Unite, a union representing 570 workers in Starbucks’ 10,000 company-owned U.S. store, said dress codes should be subject to collective bargaining.
“Starbucks has lost their way. Instead of hearing baristas that let Starbucks experience what it is, they focus on all the wrong things, including implementing a restrictive new dress code.” “Customers don’t care what colour our clothes are when they wait for a latte for 30 minutes.”
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Summers and others criticized the company for selling styles of Starbucks branded clothing that employees are no longer allowed to wear to work on internal websites. When Starbucks announced its new dress code, they said they would give each employee two free black t-shirts.
On Wednesday, Starbucks Worker Union said a total of 1,000 workers had staged strikes at 75 US stores. Starbucks said the strike at the time had a limited impact on US stores run by a company of 10,000 people. In some cases, the strike closed stores in less than an hour, the company said.
“If the union goes back to the table and makes the same effort as they are protesting against working in black shirts, it’s going to be even more productive,” Starbucks said in a statement. “More than 99% of our stores are serving our customers today, and it was within a week.”
Associated Press readers who shared their opinions had a variety of views on the dress code. Noting that many retailers require workers to dress in a specific way, some believe Starbucks baristas don’t need to complain a lot. Others said they thought Starbucks should focus on improving the quality and prices of beverages, and keeping workers happy rather than worrying about their employees wearing them.
Maddie McLaw, who manages the Starbucks store in Seattle, said she agrees with the new rules.
“To be honest, I think dress codes were a difficult change for my partner in the store,” Mucklow said. “But dress codes provide a more consistent boundary about how we can best manifest ourselves with each other, while still expressing our personality. ”
Starbucks Workers United has been combining US stores since 2021. Starbucks and the union agreed to return to the negotiation table in February 2024, but have yet to reach the contract agreement.
The union said this week it filed a complaint with the National Labor Commission, which it alleges Starbucks did not negotiate over a new dress code.
Dee-Ann Durbin
