Two national strikes from Republic Services trash collectors and Starbucks baristas have dominated labor news in the second half of 2025 – and both affect metro Atlanta.
After 99 days on the picket line, unionized Republic Services garbage collectors in Cumming reached a hard-fought contract agreement with a 17% pay increase, ending a nationwide strike on Oct. 15 by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
Meanwhile, Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) workers are over a month into their Red Cup Rebellion, which kicked off for the coffee giant’s peak holiday season. Over 180 unionized Starbucks shops, including Alpharetta and Roswell locations, have hit the picket line for a contract with higher pay and better staffing.
The Teamsters’ strike against Republic Services, involving almost 2,000 sanitation workers, was over contract renewals. That’s similar to the massive International Longshoremen’s Association strike a year ago that won dockworkers higher pay after years of stagnant wages, and the strike threat by 12 railroad unions in late 2022, during the peak holiday package delivery season, over chronic understaffing and paid sick days.
Conversely, the Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) strike now entering its second month stems from a four-year standoff between unionized Starbucks employees and Starbucks over the terms of an initial contract. SBWU has been fighting for a contract since the first Starbucks store unionized in December 2021 in Buffalo, New York.
Alongside these national actions, metro Atlanta workers at a handful of local companies have managed to unionize, even as the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which referees union elections, has been operating in a greatly diminished capacity. President Donald Trump fired board member Gwynne Wilcox early in his term, and with just one remaining member, the five-member board lacks a quorum to decide cases.
Here is Atlanta Civic Circle’s rundown of key labor actions for Atlanta in the latter half of 2025.
Starbucks strike triples in size
In Starbucks Workers United’s largest-ever labor action, it says over 3,800 unionized Starbucks baristas have joined the strike for a union contract. About 1,000 SBWU workers launched the walkout on Nov. 13 for Red Cup Day, which kicks off Starbucks’ busy holiday season.
The union is demanding a contract with increased staffing and higher pay – and for Starbucks to resolve over 700 unfair labor practice complaints, mostly for union-busting.
In four years of fighting for their first union contract with Starbucks, SBWU baristas have never staged more than one- or two-day walkouts. SBWU says the holiday strike has expanded from 65 stores in 40 US cities – including two in Atlanta – to 180 stores in 130 cities. Starbucks disputes that, claiming that the SBWU strike has shut down only 49 stores nationally and that it has reopened 29 of them.
Atlanta Starbucks stores join the strike
In metro Atlanta, an initial contingent of 44 striking baristas has grown to 60, shutting down a Roswell store at 1570 Holcomb Bridge Road and an Alpharetta store at 10830 Haynes Bridge Road. Starbucks reopened the Alpharetta store with non-union workers, but the SBWU baristas have shut down another unionized Alpharetta store at 8500 Holcomb Bridge Road.
In June, Starbucks itself closed its busy Ansley Mall store, a coffee staple in Atlanta, three years after it unionized.
SBWU says it’s prepared to continue the strike and is asking the public to boycott Starbucks and respect picket lines. The striking Atlanta Starbucks workers are still getting paid, thanks to the SBWU national strike fund and fundraising from the Atlanta chapter of Democratic Socialists of America. They can attend a strike kitchen and food pantry every Friday at the Unitarian Universalist Metro Atlanta North church in Roswell.
According to a statement from Starbucks spokesperson Jaci Anderson: “99% of our 17,000 U.S. locations remain open and welcoming customers —including many the union publicly stated would strike but never closed or have since reopened.”
“Regardless of the union’s plans, we do not anticipate any meaningful disruption. When the union is ready to return to the bargaining table, we’re ready to talk,” the Starbucks statement said.
Cumming trash collectors’ strike won pay increases
After 99 days on strike, 33 Teamsters trash collectors in Cumming reached a contract agreement on Oct. 15 with Republic Services, after talks stalled last spring.
At the height of the strike, nearly 2,000 unionized Republic Services workers walked out in eight states. Although it was a national strike, each unionized shop negotiated its own deal with the company.
The Cumming workers, represented by Teamsters Local 728, won a four-year contract. The agreement features a 17% wage increase over the period, with a 7% increase in the first year. They also gained additional vacation days and increased paternity leave.
Atlanta Teamsters win 1st contract with United Natural Foods
Over 225 warehouse workers at grocery wholesaler United Natural Foods’ (UNFI) Lakeview distribution center unanimously ratified their first collective bargaining agreement in September as members of Teamsters Local 728. The five-year contract provides a 30% wage increase, Teamsters health care coverage and pension benefits.
“This is an excellent contract that will have a lasting impact on our members and their families,” said Teamsters Local 728 president Matt Higdon in a statement. “We mirrored the best standards already won by other UNFI Teamsters, and we are proud to have secured such a strong agreement for our newest members at Local 728.”
The Atlanta UNFI warehouse workers voted to unionize last year, joining over 1,250 UNFI drivers and warehouse workers who’ve elected to join the Teamsters in the past year.
“This agreement reflects our commitment to bargaining in good faith for fair contracts that offer competitive pay and benefits while providing us the operational flexibility we need to serve our customers,” UNFI said in a statement to Progressive Grocer.
Local union elections
People’s Transit
Atlanta workers at People’s Transit, a national paratransit company, overwhelmingly voted on Aug. 6 to unionize with Local 732 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, AFL-CIO. The vote tally was 11-3.
Alstom Transport USA
In late August, a shop made up of 91 technicians at Alstom Transport, which handles operations and maintenance for transit and rail agencies, voted to unionize with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). Out of 80 votes cast, 56 workers voted for the union and 24 against.
Chenega Global Protection
There was only one “no” vote when 96 metro-Atlanta security officers employed by Chenega Global Protection voted to unionize with United Government Security Officers Local 334 in late August. The security guards work at eight metro-Atlanta locations for Chenega.
Honey Bucket
Atlanta workers at Honey Bucket, a national porta-potty rental company with a McDonough location, had a union vote scheduled for Dec. 17 on joining the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 728. The 15-person voting unit is made up of territory managers, yard laborers, and drivers.
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Musicians and librarians employed by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, a division of the Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center, filed a petition Dec. 3 to join the American Federation of Musicians Local 148-462. The NLRB has not yet scheduled an election.
Pepsi Beverages Co.
Almost 100 drivers for Pepsi Beverages Co. will hold elections in January on whether to unionize with Teamsters Local 528. A cohort of 42 drivers at Pepsi’s Atlanta location will vote Jan. 15, while another cohort of 57 drivers in Lithonia will vote Jan. 20.