Starbucks baristas staged one-day strikes Monday at one of the chain’s Baltimore coffee shops and at other Maryland and Virginia stores to protest what the newly unionized workers say have been delays in negotiating labor contracts.
“We’ve been trying for over a year and a half to sit down with Starbucks and bargain on behalf of our union, and Starbucks has just been pulling shady stuff to get out of it,” said Alex Boyd, a shift supervisor at Starbucks in Baltimore’s Mount Vernon neighborhood.
Starbucks had not responded to a request for comment as of Monday afternoon. The retailer in the past has objected to petitions to unionize filed by workers at individual stores around the United States and taken steps to convince them that they’ll be worse off with a union.
