The union representing Starbucks workers announced Wednesday that more than 1,000 Starbucks baristas are going on strike at 75 different locations across the U.S.
According to the Associated Press, the strike is in response to a new company dress code, which will put limits on what a barista is able to wear under their green aprons beginning Monday.
Employees at company-operated and licensed store in the U.S. and Canada will be required to only wear a solid black shirt, and khaki, black, or blue denim bottoms.
Under the old dress code, baristas had more flexibility to wear dark shades and patterned shirts. Starbucks stated that its updated guidelines aim to highlight the iconic green aprons, fostering a stronger sense of familiarity and warmth for customers while enhancing the welcoming atmosphere in its stores.
Starbucks Workers United, the union representing employees at 570 of the company’s 10,000 corporate-owned U.S. stores, argued that the dress code should be negotiated through collective bargaining.
Paige Summers, a Starbucks shift supervisor from Hanover, Maryland, said Starbucks has “lost its way.”
“Instead of listening to baristas who make the Starbucks experience what it is, they are focused on all the wrong things, like implementing a restrictive new dress code,” Summers said. “Customers don’t care what color our clothes are when they’re waiting 30 minutes for a latte.”
Summers and others voiced criticism over the company’s sale of Starbucks-branded apparel on an internal website — styles that employees are now prohibited from wearing at work.
In response to the dress code update, Starbucks announced it would provide each employee with two free black T-shirts. The company said Wednesday the strike would have a limited impact on its 10,000 company-operated stores in the U.S.
“Thousands of Starbucks partners came to work this week ready to serve their customers and communities,” Starbucks said in a statement. “It would be more productive if the union would put the same effort into coming back to the table to finalize a reasonable contract.”
