Brian Niccol became the CEO of Starbucks one year ago. When he took the job, he promised to make changes for the workers and their fight for unionization. However, the union and Niccol are still at odds, according to the workers, and what’s been` referred to as one of the most successful corporate union drives in recent history, has been stalling.
“I deeply respect the right of partners to choose, through a fair and democratic process, to be represented by a union,” Niccol wrote in a letter to the union last September.
“If our partners choose to be represented, I am committed to making sure we engage constructively and in good faith with the union and the partners it represents.”
Since December 2021, more than 12,000 workers at around 650 Starbucks locations around the US have unionized, making it the fastest-growing union campaign in modern history. This growth has also come amongst hundreds of allegations of union-busting, retaliation, and unfair labor practices thrown at Starbucks from the union, according to reports.
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Starbucks Workers United has made progress securing the first union contract with the company since bargaining sessions began in the beginning of 2024, however, the progress has since stalled since Niccol took over the company, the Guardian writes.
One of the first strategies Niccol implemented was titled “Back to Starbucks,” which involved an emphasis on customer service to decrease wait times for orders. Workers organizing at Starbucks criticized this strategy as it increased demands on them without any improvements to staffing or pay.
Starbucks Workers United and the Strategic Organizing Center of 737 Starbucks workers conducted a survey that found 91% of workers reported understaffing in their stores within the past three months, and 93% stated the policy changes made under Niccol either had no impact or actually worsened the customer experience.
“It’s clear that ‘Back to Starbucks’ isn’t working and won’t succeed until we finalize a fair union contract with the hours, take-home pay and protections baristas need to do our jobs,” said Michelle Eisen, a spokesperson for Starbucks Workers United and a barista for 15 years.
“Brian has talked about simplifying the menu to make things easier for partners, and wanting to get customers in and out of the stores faster, but these changes that he’s rolled out haven’t accomplished any of those things,” said Jasmine Leli, a Starbucks barista since December 2021.
“We really need Niccol to get back to the table to finalize this contract so that we can start to turn things around.”
Leli also said that Starbucks should expect further action from unionized workers, as the location she works at in Cheektowaga, New York was the second store to unionize.
“We are going to do whatever it takes to get them back to the table so that we can start to address the issues with the wages, scheduling and staffing,” she added.
“We are the ones that are working in the stores and interacting with the customers day in and day out, and partners want to be a part of making change in the workplace. So that’s why stores are joining the fight.”
Niccol’s salary has also been a huge point in the fight for unionization. In 2024, he made $97.8 million, which is 6,666 times more than the average annual salary of a Starbucks worker; $14,674. This marks the largest CEO-to-worker pay gap among the top 500 corporations in the US.
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Senator Bernie Sanders wrote on social media back in March regarding Starbucks:
“If you’re the Starbucks CEO you get $96m for four months of work including a $5m bonus. If you’re a Starbucks union worker, the CEO is refusing to give you a decent raise to pay rent and buy groceries. Starbucks must end its greed & negotiate a fair union contract.”
In response to the criticism of Niccol’s salary, a Starbucks spokesperson said the following: “Starbucks believes Brian has established himself as one of the most effective leaders in our industry, with a proven track record of delivering long-term value to employees, customers and shareholders. The majority of his reported first-year compensation reflects multi-year replacement equity grants, awarded to offset compensation forfeited upon his departure from Chipotle, which are now directly tied to Starbucks future performance.”
“It would take less than what Brian made in four months to settle fair contracts with our union,” the union said in a recent video posted online.
In December 2024, thousands of baristas went on strike around the US in what became the largest strike in the company’s history. In April 2025, the union rejected a proposal from Starbucks for 2% pay increases with 81% of unionized stores rejecting the offer for not addressing their other economic benefits and pay increases.
Since September 2024, Starbucks Workers United grew to 648 unionized stores from 500.
“I believe if the company truly wanted to fix the problems happening in their stores, it could have happened by now,” said Diego Franco, a barista at Starbucks for five years at a unionized store in Chicago, Illinois.
“Where the company might see a bottom line, I see human experiences, human lives that are affected by the work that we do. So I hope to preserve that and to make it better, not just for me and my co-workers, but for people who come in the stores.”
“Since last April 2024, Starbucks and Workers United have held more than nine bargaining sessions over 20 days and three mediation sessions over five days with a federal mediator,” a spokesperson for Starbucks said.
“We’ve reached over thirty meaningful agreements on hundreds of topics Workers United delegates told us were important to them. We are ready to finalize a reasonable contract for represented partners, but we need the union to return to the bargaining table to finish the job.”
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
