As the national Starbucks strike enters its third month, unionized shops in Alpharetta and Roswell returned to work, along with several striking shops elsewhere, according to both Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) and Starbucks.
Roughly 1,000 SBWU workers in 10 cities are still on strike, according to the union – down from about 3,000 workers in over 100 cities when the strike began on Nov. 13. It’s the longest-ever strike for the unionized baristas: SBWU has only held one- or two-day walkouts to pressure the coffee giant for a contract since the first Starbucks shop unionized over four years ago.
SBWU didn’t say why it called off the walk-off for the two metro Atlanta locations – an Alpharetta store located at 10830 Haynes Bridge Road, and a Roswell store located at 1570 Holcomb Bridge Road.
“There’s been a shift change on the strike line as some striking workers have returned to work. That includes the union baristas in the Atlanta region,” the union confirmed in an emailed statement earlier this week.
The SBWU workers started their strike over two months ago to push Starbucks to complete the bargaining for a “national framework” contract, which started in April 2024. The unionized baristas have been fighting for a contract for over 4 years.
Starbucks and the union have hammered out some of the contract terms, but wage disputes derailed negotiations in late December 2024, when Starbucks rejected the union’s proposals to increase both hours and hourly pay. The union is demanding Starbucks increase base pay to $20 per hour with 5% annual raises, give baristas more hours to reduce understaffing, and resolve the dozens of unfair labor practices (ULP) charges that SBWU has filed since 2024 with the National Labor Relations Board.
“The union called for their partners to return to work – and we continue to need them to return to the bargaining table to be able to move forward with negotiations,” a Starbucks spokesperson said in an emailed statement.