LADUE, Mo. – The Starbucks strike is expanding nationwide. Approximately 5,000 employees at more than 300 stores across 45 states are on strike. It’s considered the largest walkout to hit the coffee giant.

Meanwhile, hundreds of workers in the St. Louis area gathered outside their stores on Christmas Eve to voice their concerns, including the Lindbergh Boulevard store in Ladue.

It’s the fifth day of the strike. Workers are demanding better pay and working conditions.

Hundreds of workers with signs in their hands took to the picket lines, seeking an immediate increase in Starbucks’ minimum hourly wage by as much as 64%.

“We have hundreds of stores today walking out on Starbucks’ busiest days,” barista Dorissa Claire Tyndall said. “We still have hundreds of unresolved unfair labor practices complaints against Starbucks. We have also not reached a bargaining agreement with them. They have failed to offer us a valuable, serious economic proposal.”

According to Starbucks spokesperson Phil Gee, the strike has had minimal effect.

“Only around 170 Starbucks stores did not open as planned,” Gee said in a statement. “With over 10,000 company-operated stores, 98% of our stores and nearly 200,000 green apron partners continuing to operate and serve customers during the holidays.”

A full statement from Starbucks claims the union walked away from the table earlier this week and says they offer a competitive wage for hourly employees.

Workers United delegates prematurely ended our bargaining session this week. It is disappointing they didn’t return to the table given the progress we’ve made to date. Since April, we’ve held more than nine bargaining sessions over 20 days. We’ve reached over thirty (30) meaningful agreements on hundreds of topics Workers United delegates told us were important to them, including many economic issues.

We are focused on enhancing the partner (employee) experience, with over $3 billion invested in the last three years. Starbucks offers a competitive average pay of over $18 per hour and best-in-class benefits. Taken together they are worth an average of $30 per hour for baristas who work at least 20 hours per week. Benefits include health care, free college tuition, paid family leave and company stock grants. No other retailer offers this kind of comprehensive pay and benefits package.

Workers United proposals call for an immediate increase in the minimum wage of hourly partners by 64% and by 77% over the life of a three-year contract. This is not sustainable. Starbucks statement

We are ready to continue negotiations to reach agreements. We need the union to return to the table.

But Starbucks employees and union reps aren’t biting.

“Starbucks is bringing proposals that are not worth having a conversation about,” store supervisor Moe Mills said. “They are suggesting a 1% raise, which is pretty disgraceful, a kind of slap in the face, and doesn’t even meet inflation.”

The inflation rate is currently 2.7%, according to the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI). But thanks to cumulative inflation, consumer prices have jumped 22% since February 2020, the onset of the COVID pandemic in the United States.

Meanwhile, Starbucks Corp. stock (SBUX) is trading at $89.91 per share on the NASDAQ as of Dec. 24, 2024, down 6% from this time last year but up more than 4% since February 2020.