L.A.-area Starbucks workers join nationwide strike of unionized workers

Four Los Angeles-area Starbucks stores closed Friday morning as employees took to the picket line, joining a nationwide strike of unionized baristas and other staff members demanding better treatment from its corporate leaders.

The strike is the second by Starbucks employees in recent weeks over concerns that the Seattle-based chain has unfairly retaliated against unionized workers and failed to bargain in good faith to reach first-time contracts. Starbucks did not immediately respond to these concerns.

“We’re on strike right now … demanding it stop closing union stores, they reopen the stores they have closed, and [stop] their union-busting campaign against us,” said Tyler Keeling, a union organizer at the Lakewood Starbucks on Candlewood Street. Strikers plan to remain on the picket line through Sunday, forcing the four stores to remain closed.

The other closed stores were at 3390 E. 7th St. in Long Beach and, in Los Angeles, at 138 S. Central Ave. and 3241 Figueroa St.

The stores are among 270 Starbucks across the nation that have unionized in the last year — part of a wave of labor movement that has swept the nation, including striking University of California academic workers and organizing Amazon warehouses. The Workers United guild, which represents Starbucks workers, said about 100 stores across the U.S. were on strike beginning Friday.

“Every step we take is inspiring more workers to take power back to themselves and to create change in the workplace,” Keeling said. “We don’t have to sit down and accept these horrible working conditions; we can make a change.”

Starbucks, citing safety concerns, recently announced the permanent closure of the first Seattle location that unionized, but union leaders noted the closure came on the first anniversary of the first Starbucks winning a union election. United Workers said it was part of an “anti-union campaign” by the company.

The chain closed a number of Starbucks this summer, also citing safety reasons, including six in L.A. None of the locations in Los Angeles had been unionized, but union leaders at the time still viewed the move as a “response to the growing union movement spreading across the country.”

The relationship between Starbucks — which opposes unionization — and its unionized employees has become increasingly contentious over the last year, with Workers United leaders asking a federal court to intervene four times in matters of unfair labor practices, such as firing union leaders or withholding pay hikes.

Meanwhile, Starbucks has asked the national labor board for a temporary suspension of all U.S. union elections, citing allegations that regional officials improperly coordinated with union organizers.

In a pre-strike statement in October, Starbucks officials said: “Our focus continues to be on co-creating the future of Starbucks side-by-side with our partners throughout the country, and for stores with union representation, our commitment is to progress the single-store collective bargaining process. … There will continue to be no tolerance for any unlawful anti-union behavior.”