A Starbucks employee boards a Starbucks union bus after Starbucks workers stood on the picket line with striking SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America (WGA) members in solidarity outside the school Netflix shoot on July 28, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Mario Tama | beautiful images
Starbucks and Workers United, which represents about 400 of its cafes, said Friday in a joint statement that they had made “significant progress” in contract negotiations this week.
According to the press release, the two sides discussed the grievance process, details regarding union representation of Starbucks baristas and other topics on Wednesday and Thursday at Atlanta.
The two-day session marked the first time in nearly a year that Starbucks and Workers United sat at the bargaining table. It followed an announcement in February that the two sides had ended their bitter standoff.
The coffee giant spent more than two years fighting the union, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU. United Workers has widely pushed for higher wages and more accommodating schedules, along with a host of other priorities.
This week's negotiations are the closest any union location, which represents a fraction of Starbucks' total U.S. footprint, has come to a collective bargaining agreement.
However, there is still a long way to go.
“There is much work to be done, but we are committed to working together,” both sides said in a joint statement.
According to the release, Starbucks and the union plan to meet again in late May to continue working on a framework that will inform every store's contract. Individual stores will still have to negotiate and approve contracts after that platform has been built.
Labor law does not require the employer and union to reach a collective bargaining agreement, only that both bargain in good faith. After a year, workers who have lost faith in the union can petition for decertification, clocking time to negotiate.
Correction: This article has been updated to reflect that Starbucks and Workers United represent about 400 cafes. An earlier version misspelled the number.
