Starbucks will resume contract negotiations with Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) baristas in April after 131 days on strike, the union announced Tuesday. Starbucks did not immediately return Atlanta Civic Circle’s request for comment.
Thousands of unionized Starbucks baristas walked off the job on Nov. 13 last year for SBWU’s longest strike in its four-year fight for a union contract.
“After we raised our voices, waged a historic unfair labor practice strike that rallied the support of hundreds of thousands of supporters, and presented a reasonable, fair contract deal to Starbucks, we’re set to bargain with the company starting in April,” SBWU said in a March 24 statement.
Over 14,000 unionized baristas are demanding higher pay, better staffing and for Starbucks to resolve over 600 unfair labor practice charges that SBWU has filed with the National Labor Relations Board.
The union has dialed back its pay increase demands since going on strike over four months ago. It’s now asking for a minimum hourly wage of $17 per hour, down from $20 per hour in November, and 4% annual pay raises, instead of 5%.
The union is also demanding that at least three baristas staff a shop instead of the current two, that Starbucks allot more hours to current workers before making new hires, and expanded protections for scheduling, discipline, and safety.
About 3,000 unionized workers in over 100 cities participated in the nationwide walkoffs at their peak, including three unionized Starbucks shops in Roswell and Alpharetta. However, the union called off the local picket lines in January.
The lengthy strike followed two years of stalled union negotiations with Starbucks for a national framework contract. That will serve as a template for each SBWU store’s contract, which the coffee giant has insisted on negotiating individually. There were 667 unionized stores at the end of 2025, which Starbucks has said make up about 6% of its over 10,000 company-owned US stores.
The union is still asking the public to delete the Starbucks app and refrain from buying Starbucks until it’s won a contract.
In Starbucks’ 2025 annual report, filed Nov. 14, 2025 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said the SBWU work stoppages could “negatively impact our operations […] and can also have a negative impact on our reputation and brand.”
“Additionally, while we respect the rights of partners to organize, our position with respect to unions and the unionization of partners could negatively impact how our brand is perceived and could have material adverse effects on our business, including on our financial results,” the report said.