Starbucks and the union representing more than 10,000 of its workers will return to the negotiating table Wednesday for the first time in nearly a year, a pivotal moment in the years-long battle between the coffee giant and its organized workers.
Representatives from the company and 150 representatives from the Workers United union will meet at an undisclosed location in Atlanta to begin negotiating a framework for union contracts for each of the more than 400 unionized stores.
The two sides last met on May 23 and have spent months blaming each other for the impasse. During that time, workers staged several strikes and tried to win positions on Starbucks’ board of directors, and the company sued the union over its use of the Starbucks logo.
The dispute eased in February when the two sides issued a joint statement saying they were returning to the negotiating table. Michelle Eisen, a former Starbucks barista in Buffalo, which was the first company-owned store to unionize during the current campaign, said she was optimistic the company would negotiate in good faith.
“It’s been a long couple of years and it seems like there’s some levity now and a little more levity in general,” Ms. Eisen said. “All signs point in a positive direction.”
Reflecting the new attitude, more than 250 union members plan to attend Wednesday’s session virtually, a way for workers to ensure all voices are heard. Last year, the union said, Starbucks insisted that talks take place entirely in person.
The union is calling for higher wages and better safety standards, among other issues. Once the two sides agree on an overall framework, individual contracts will be put to a ratification vote by each store. Separate contracts will allow the company and workers to raise issues that may vary by region or type of store, such as one with a drive-through window versus one in a shopping center.
Starbucks workers began organizing in 2021 with three Buffalo-area stores. Since that campaign began, the National Labor Relations Board has filed numerous complaints accusing Starbucks of taking steps to resist organizing efforts, which the company has denied.
When Starbucks and the union announced they would return to the negotiating table, the company said it would provide union workers with benefits it introduced in 2022 but withheld from unionized stores, including credit card tipping.
“The union forced management to come to the negotiating table,” said Eric Blanc, a professor at Rutgers University who studies labor movements. “The scale of the anti-union campaign and its verbosity is unmatched in modern labor history. The fact that workers were able to overcome this is truly historic.”
Starbucks said it was willing to resume talks with the union almost a year after Laxman Narasimhan arrived as CEO. He replaced former CEO Howard Schultz, who said a union was incompatible with Starbucks’ business model.
In March, a coalition of unions, including Workers United, ended its campaign to add its members to Starbucks’ board, saying in a statement that it was “time to recognize the progress that has been made and allow the company and its workers concentrate”. go ahead”.
The union alliance also said it had “meaningful dialogue” with shareholders, who said they believed the company was taking steps to improve its relationship with its workers.