A union representing more than 11,000 Starbucks baristas in the United States said its members will stage a five-day strike starting Friday morning, over a dispute over wages and working conditions.
United Workers say walkouts will occur in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle, and the walkout is set to spread every day and reach hundreds of stores by Christmas Eve unless a deal is reached with the coffee shop giant.
This comes on the heels of the union's call for Starbucks to increase wages and employees, as well as implement better schedules for its workers.
Starbucks said in response to the strike announcement: “We are ready to continue negotiations to reach agreements. We need the union back to the table.”
The union says it represents workers in more than 500 stores in 45 US states.
“It is a last resort, but Starbucks has broken its promise to thousands of baristas and left us no choice,” Fatima Al-Hajjaboudi, a Starbucks barista from Texas, said in a statement sent to the BBC by the union.
The United Workers Organization has highlighted what it sees as an unfair pay disparity between its members and Starbucks' top bosses, including CEO Brian Nichol.
Nicol joined the company in September after his predecessor, Laxman Narasimhan, stepped down after less than two years.
The world's largest coffee chain has seen sales slump as it battles a backlash over price increases and a boycott sparked by the war between Israel and Gaza.
