Starbucks workers hold strike vote and plan for pickets to force first contract

Union says world's largest coffee chain engaged in bad faith bargaining and stonewalled over contract

Unionized Starbucks workers across the US are casting their votes on whether to hold a strike amid anger over pay and conditions at the world's largest coffee chain, and allegations it breached labor laws by engaging in bad faith bargaining.

Starbucks has faced a rapid wave of mobilization since 2021. Starbucks Workers United, a union representing baristas at the chain, has won elections at more than 650 of its locations in 45 states and the District of Columbia, representing more than 12,000 workers.