Thousands of Starbucks employees are planning to go on strike on Thursday to protest the company’s stance on unionized stores.
The strike is happening on the same day as Starbucks’ Red Cup Day, when the company distributes holiday-themed cups.
The union representing nearly 400 unionized Starbucks locations in the U.S., Starbucks Workers United, claims that the company has not negotiated in good faith and has violated federal labor law over the past year.
Starbucks denies these allegations and says it has been negotiating in good faith and has not broken any laws in its dealings with unionized locations.
The company has stated that it remains committed to working with its partners and hopes that the union’s priorities will include the success of Starbucks partners and negotiating contracts for those they represent.
The strike comes after the union criticized Starbucks for not offering wage increases to unionized stores, which the union claims is illegal. Starbucks argues that such decisions must be negotiated at the contract bargaining table.
Starbucks is also facing legal action from federal regulators who accuse the company of violating labor law by having an anti-union stance. The National Labor Relations Board has accused Starbucks of intimidating workers against recognizing a union, withholding benefits from union workers, engaging in retaliatory firings, and closing unionized stores.
Starbucks rejects these accusations made by the NLRB.