AP Top News｜星巴克员工在公司繁忙的“红杯日”发起全美65家门店罢工

超过1000名加入工会的星巴克员工计划于周四在美国65家门店举行罢工，以抗议与公司的劳资谈判进展缓慢。

此次罢工旨在扰乱星巴克的"红杯日"活动，该活动通常是该公司一年中最繁忙的日子之一。自2018年起，星巴克会在当天向购买节日饮品的顾客免费赠送可重复使用的杯子。

星巴克员工联合会（Starbucks Workers United）是负责组织星巴克咖啡师工会的机构。该联合会表示，此次罢工将波及45个城市的门店，包括纽约、费城、明尼阿波利斯、圣迭戈、圣路易斯、达拉斯、俄亥俄州哥伦布市以及星巴克总部所在地西雅图。组织者称，目前尚未确定罢工结束日期，若星巴克未能与工会达成协议，将有更多门店准备加入罢工行列。

星巴克强调，其在美国的绝大多数门店将于周四正常营业。这家咖啡巨头在美国拥有1万家直营店，以及在杂货店和机场等场所开设的7000家特许经营店。

目前美国约有550家星巴克直营门店已成立工会。另有更多门店投票通过了工会化决议，但作为大规模重组计划的一部分，星巴克于9月关闭了59家已成立工会的门店。

以下是罢工背后的原因。

陷入僵局的合同协议

罢工工人表示，他们抗议的原因是星巴克至今未能与工会达成合同协议。2021年，星巴克员工首次在布法罗的一家门店投票决定成立工会。2023年12月，星巴克承诺将在2024年底前敲定协议。但在去年8月，公司解雇了做出这一承诺的首席执行官拉克斯曼·纳拉辛汉。工会称，在现任董事长兼首席执行官布莱恩·尼科尔领导下，谈判进展陷入停滞。

劳动者呼吁提高薪资并改善工作时间

员工们表示，他们正在争取更合理的工作时间和门店人员配置的改善，因为目前顾客长时间排队等候已成为常态。他们指出，许多员工每周无法达到星巴克福利政策要求的20小时最低工时标准。此外，他们还要求提高薪资，并举例说明像尼克（Niccol）这样的高管正坐拥数百万美元的薪酬。

工会还要求该公司解决员工提出的数百项不公平劳动行为指控。员工们称，公司以解雇咖啡师作为对组建工会的报复，且未就员工必须执行的政策变更进行协商，例如今年早些时候作出的仅限付费顾客使用洗手间的决定。

星巴克坚持其薪资与福利政策

星巴克表示，其提供的薪资福利方案在零售行业中最为优厚，平均每小时价值30美元。公司福利包括长达18周的带薪家庭假期，以及四年制大学学位的全额学费资助。星巴克首席合作伙伴官萨拉·凯利在上周致员工的信中表示，工会在春季退出了谈判。

凯利表示，星巴克仍愿意进行对话，并“相信我们能迅速达成合理协议”。他还提到，调查显示大多数员工喜欢为公司工作，且其咖啡师流动率仅为行业平均水平的一半。

高曝光度的有限地点

星巴克工会员工此前曾多次发起罢工。2022年和2023年，员工们在"红杯日"集体停工。去年圣诞节前夕的为期五天的罢工导致美国59家门店停业。星巴克每次均表示运营所受影响甚微。工会组织"星巴克联合"表示，此次新罢工将无限期持续，并可能蔓延至更多工会门店。

星巴克非工会门店的数量远超工会门店。但罗格斯大学管理与劳工关系学院的工会专家托德·瓦肯（Todd Vachon）表示，任何罢工行动都可能引发高度关注，并让公众了解咖啡师们的诉求。

瓦尚（Vachon）指出，与制造业不同，零售业依赖于员工与顾客之间的互动关系。他表示，这使得公开谴责可能成为工会武器库中的一柄利器。

提升销售额

星巴克同店销售额（即开业至少一年的门店销售额）在7月至9月期间增长了1%。这是该公司近两年来首次实现增长。尼科尔（Niccol）上任第一年便制定了新的服务标准，重新设计门店以营造更温馨舒适的环境，并调整人员配置以更好地应对客流高峰时段。

星巴克正尝试优先处理门店订单而非移动端订单。上周，该公司在美国推出的节日特饮大获成功，其玻璃材质的熊店长杯（Bearista）几乎瞬间售罄。星巴克表示这款杯子的需求远超预期，但未透露是否会在假期结束前补货。

More than 1,000 unionized Starbucks workers plan to strike at 65 U.S. stores Thursday to protest a lack of progress in labor negotiations with the company.

The strike was intended to disrupt Starbucks Red Cup Day , which is typically one of the companys busiest days of the year. Since 2018, Starbucks has given out free, reusable cups on that day to customers who buy a holiday drink.

Starbucks Workers United , the union organizing Starbucks baristas, said stores in 45 cities would be impacted, including New York, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, San Diego, St. Louis, Dallas, Columbus, Ohio, and Starbucks home city of Seattle. There is no date set for the strike to end, and more stores are prepared to join if Starbucks doesnt reach a contract agreement with the union, organizers said.

Starbucks emphasized that the vast majority of its U.S. stores would be open and operating as usual Thursday. The coffee giant has 10,000 company-owned stores in the U.S., as well as 7,000 licensed locations in places like grocery stores and airports.

Around 550 company-owned U.S. Starbucks stores are currently unionized. More have voted to unionize, but Starbucks closed 59 unionized stores in September as part of a larger reorganization campaign.

Heres whats behind the strike.

A stalled contract agreement

Striking workers say theyre protesting because Starbucks has yet to reach a contract agreement with the union. Starbucks workers first voted to unionize at a store in Buffalo in 2021. In December 2023, Starbucks vowed to finalize an agreement by the end of 2024. But in August of last year, the company ousted Laxman Narasimhan , the CEO who made that promise. The union said progress has stalled under Brian Niccol , the companys current chairman and CEO.

Workers want higher pay, better hours

Workers say theyre seeking better hours and improved staffing in stores, where they say long customer wait times are routine. They say too many workers arent getting the required 20 hours per week they need before Starbucks benefits kick in. They also want higher pay, pointing out that executives like Niccol are making millions .

The union also wants the company to resolve hundreds of unfair labor practice charges filed by workers, who say the company has fired baristas in retaliation for unionizing and has failed to bargain over changes in policy that workers must enforce, like its decision earlier this year to limit restroom use to paying customers.

Starbucks stands by its wages and benefits

Starbucks says it offers the best wage and benefit package in retail, worth an average of $30 per hour. Among the companys benefits are up to 18 weeks of paid family leave and 100% tuition coverage for a four-year college degree. In a letter to employees last week, Starbucks Chief Partner Officer Sara Kelly said the union walked away from the bargaining table in the spring.

Kelly said Starbucks remained ready to talk and believes we can move quickly to a reasonable deal. Kelly also said surveys showed that most employees like working for the company, and its barista turnover rates are half the industry average.

Limited locations with high visibility

Unionized workers have gone on strike at Starbucks before. In 2022 and 2023, workers walked off the job on Red Cup Day. Last year, a five-day strike ahead of Christmas closed 59 U.S. stores. Each time, Starbucks said the disruption to its operations was minimal. Starbucks United said the new strike is open-ended and could spread to many more unionized locations.

The number of non-union Starbucks locations dwarfs the number of unionized ones. But Todd Vachon, a union expert at the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations, said any strike could be highly visible and educate the public on baristas concerns.

Unlike manufacturers, Vachon said, retail industries depend on the connection between their employees and their customers. That makes shaming a potentially powerful weapon in the unions arsenal, he said.

Improving sales

Starbucks same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, rose 1% in the July-September period. It was the first time in nearly two years that the company had posted an increase. In his first year at the company, Niccol set new hospitality standards , redesigned stores to be cozier and more welcoming , and adjusted staffing levels to better handle peak hours.

Starbucks also is trying to prioritize in-store orders over mobile ones. Last week, the companys holiday drink rollout in the U.S. was so successful that it almost immediately sold out of its glass Bearista cup. Starbucks said demand for the cup exceeded its expectations, but it wouldnt say if the Bearista will return before the holidays are over.