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Bargaining delegates will return to negotiations with Starbucks on Tuesday in the last scheduled session of the year with the goal of agreeing on a “basic framework.” Starbucks and Workers United have spent hundreds of hours at the bargaining table this year, and the two sides have advanced dozens of tentative agreements, the union said in a press release.
However, hundreds of unfair labor practice cases remain unresolved, and the union said Starbucks has yet to propose a comprehensive package that would address barista pay and other benefits.
In a statement to CNBC, Starbucks disputed the union’s characterizations and said the company remains committed to reaching a final framework agreement.
“It is disappointing that the union is considering a strike instead of focusing on what have been very productive negotiations. Since April we have scheduled and participated in more than eight multi-day bargaining sessions. “We have reached thirty meaningful agreements on dozens of topics. Workers United delegates told us that many of the economic issues are involved,” the company said in a statement.
The authorization of the strike suggests that relations between the two sides could cool again after a thaw in late February. Both parties said They sought a “constructive way forward” despite mediation. Prior to this point, Starbucks had battled a union boom that had plagued its company-owned locations for more than two years. The company’s efforts to stop the union movement resulted in a backlash from some consumers and lawmakers, culminating in ex- CEO Howard Schultz testifies. On Capitol Hill.
Starbucks CEO Brian Nichol, who joined the company in September, Committed to bargaining In a letter to the union in his first weeks on the job, in good faith.
Nicole announced on Monday That the company will double its paid parental leave starting in March. However, baristas will. allegedly received A smaller salary increase next year than in previous years, after sales at its U.S. locations declined.
More than 500 company-owned Starbucks cafes have voted to unionize under Workers United. First elections That happened three years ago in Buffalo.