Around a dozen Columbus Starbucks employees joined the ongoing national Starbucks strike Monday, picketing on a street corner outside a Starbucks in Worthington.
“We are out here today to show our literal support from the community and within our union, and that we’re ready to fight and the fight’s never gonna be over,” Siti Pulcheon, Starbucks barista and union delegate for a Downtown Columbus Starbucks, said at the picket line Monday.
Monday marked the third day of Columbus’ participation in the strike. Employees from five Starbucks stores were at the picket line Monday, with more expected to join for the union’s Christmas Eve strike on Tuesday, union organizer and barista Ruvy Walters said.
Starbucks workers picket on a street corner in Worthington on Dec. 23, 2024.
Some of Columbus’ union Starbucks stores were closed Monday, but not all of them, according to the company’s website.
Starbucks Workers United, the company’s national union, announced a five-day strike that began Friday morning after Starbucks, which agreed to negotiate with the union in February, offered a contract that did not meet the union’s economic demands or resolve the company’s unfair labor practice charges, according to the union.
“Nobody wants to strike. It’s a last resort, but Starbucks has broken its promise to thousands of baristas and left us with no choice,” Fatemeh Alhadjaboodi , a Starbucks barista from Texas and union bargaining delegate said in a Monday press release.
“In a year when Starbucks invested so many millions in top executive talent, it has failed to present the baristas who make its company run with a viable economic proposal and resolve the pending unfair labor practices. This is just the beginning. We will do whatever it takes to get the company to honor the commitment it made to us in February.”
The strikes have not had a significant impact on Starbucks’ business operations, a company spokesperson said in a statement to USA TODAY Monday.
“We respect our partners’ right to engage in lawful strike activity, and we appreciate the thousands of partners across the country who are continuing to support each other and deliver the Starbucks experience for our customers,” Starbucks spokesperson Phil McGee said.
The strike initially started in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle before expanding to 12 states, including Ohio, by Monday. Union representatives previously said the strike could reach hundreds of stores by Christmas Eve, USA TODAY previously reported.
Over 525 Starbucks stores and 11,000 baristas have joined Starbucks Workers United, according to the union’s website. Ninety-eight percent of union members voted to authorize the strike on Thursday.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Starbucks workers join ongoing national strike