Starbucks Baristas Are Asking Customers To Skip The Pumpkin Spice Latte
Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte is back, but unionized baristas are asking customers to skip the coffee chain as their contract fight continues.
The Pumpkin Spice Latte is back at Starbucks, but the workers behind the counter have a very different message for customers this fall. Starbucks Workers United launched a boycott on Aug. 25, asking customers to stop spending money at the coffee chain while unionized baristas continue fighting for a contract.
The timing is hard to miss. Starbucks chose the same day to bring back its most famous fall drink, while the union asked customers to skip Starbucks altogether until the company addresses its demands for better pay, hours, staffing and workplace protections.
Workers United represents employees at around 700 Starbucks locations across the U.S. The union says negotiations have dragged on for roughly five years, and it wants customers to put some pressure on the company by taking their coffee money elsewhere.
Starbucks Workers Have Been Waiting a Long Time for a Contract
This is not the first time Starbucks workers have tried to put pressure on the company. More than 200 stores went on strike in November, with Seattle becoming a major focus of the protests. Most of the striking employees returned to work the following month, but the contract fight continued.
Workers United says Starbucks has failed to make enough progress on issues including low pay, understaffing, inconsistent hours and workplace protections. The union has also criticized the company’s spending on artificial intelligence and advertising, along with CEO Brian Niccol’s compensation.
‘We’re fed up with Starbucks refusing to finalize a fair union contract that would cost the company less than one day’s sales,’ Workers United wrote on Instagram.
Starbucks has pushed back on those claims. Spokesperson Jaci Anderson said the company remains committed to ‘engaging in productive bargaining’ and pointed to Starbucks’ competitive pay, benefits and opportunities for employees to grow their careers.
Anderson also said the boycott has not affected Starbucks’ business so far.
For customers, though, the union is making the dispute pretty simple. If you want your pumpkin spice fix this fall, Workers United would rather see you spend that money at a unionized coffee shop.
The PSL Is Back, and the Union Wants Customers to Pass On It
There is a reason the boycott’s timing stands out. The Pumpkin Spice Latte has become an annual Starbucks ritual, with its return signaling the unofficial start of fall for plenty of customers. Starbucks has spent years turning one seasonal drink into a major part of its brand.
Now, the workers who make those drinks are asking customers to sit this one out. Workers United has encouraged customers to support other unionized coffee shops, including Seattle’s General Porpoise, instead of Starbucks. The group says the company should not get customers’ money while workers remain without a finalized contract.
The boycott also comes at a complicated moment for Starbucks more broadly. The company recently announced 224 layoffs at its Seattle headquarters and remote locations, while some Starbucks stores have closed across the country under Niccol’s leadership. At the same time, Starbucks reported $9.3 billion in revenue in its most recent quarterly results, although that represented a 1% year over year decline.
So, yes, the Pumpkin Spice Latte is officially back. This year, however, Starbucks workers are asking customers to think about where their fall coffee money goes before ordering one.
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