- within Cannabis & Hemp, Privacy, Media, Telecoms, IT and Entertainment topic(s)
- with readers working within the Insurance industries
Starbucks Workers United (SWU) — the union representing many baristas nationwide since the chain has faced one of the biggest organizing drives in recent memory — announced it is planning a large-scale strike just in time for the holidays. SWU represents thousands of workers at more than 500 cafés nationwide. There are a lot of unknowns here, including whether they'll actually strike, how many baristas ultimately will walk out, which cafés will be impacted, etc. But perhaps the biggest question is, will this affect your daily cup of coffee, latte (it is pumpkin spice season), or other beverage of choice from the coffee giant? It could.
If all the baristas at a café decide to walk off and strike, that could lead to temporary closures, in which case coffee drinkers will be forced to find another location for their daily fix. However, Starbucks has options. Starbucks can still run cafés with managers/supervisors or other employees deciding not to participate in the strike. They also can hire replacement workers during the course of a work stoppage to run their business (and even permanent replacements if it's deemed to be an "economic strike" versus an "unfair labor practice strike"). It is typical for employers to find a way to keep operations going during a strike via managerial staff, replacements, or a combination of the two.
Nevertheless, there is usually a "learning curve" for the workers coming online to assist in operations once a strike commences. Accordingly, it is possible you could see more limited menus at cafés impacted by a work stoppage, such as limits on customization of orders — so if you like to order a triple, non-fat vanilla latte with two pumps of hazelnut, shaken, not stirred — it remains to be seen how and whether those types of orders can be filled in the immediate aftermath of a work stoppage.
Another issue to keep an eye on is sympathy strikes. Sympathy strikes are actions taken by workers not part of the union out on strike. For example, if a Teamster driver is scheduled to make a delivery to a café whose SWU workers are on strike and picketing the location, the driver may decline to make the delivery. Another scenario is that workers at other cafés who have not decided to formally join the SWU may decide to walk out in solidarity and not return for the duration of the work stoppage. To the extent these issues occur, needless to say, this still could impact your daily caffeine intake.
Big picture, though, Starbucks has more than 17,000 cafés in the United States as of the writing of this post. So, even assuming the union is successful in hampering operations at 500 or so cafés (a big if), the chain seems well positioned to keep coffee flowing for the vast majority of Americans and weather whatever may come. We'll see what unfolds. In the meantime, make sure you have your contingency plans in place if your drink of choice comes from one of the locations that may be affected by the potential strike.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
