Starbucks workers in New York City have filed 32 additional complaints, alleging that the coffee giant violated the city’s labor laws.
Under New York’s Fair Workweek law, employers are required to provide workers with consistent schedules from week to week, give 14 days’ notice of scheduled hours, and offer extra pay for shift changes, among other stipulations.3
Starbucks baristas have frequently accused the company of failing to comply with these requirements, filing nearly 90 complaints with the city since February related to the law.
In response, Starbucks stated, “We make every effort and have invested significant resources to ensure partner scheduling practices are in alignment with New York City’s Fair Workweek Law.”
These new allegations come as Starbucks baristas at more than 200 locations nationwide are striking on Thursday, coinciding with the company’s busy Red Cup promotion day.
Each year, Starbucks celebrates the holiday season by giving away reusable red cups with the company’s logo with any purchase.
Starbucks Workers United, the union representing these workers, stated that the strike is in protest of understaffing at Starbucks locations, particularly on promotion days. They are also demanding that the company disable mobile ordering on future promotion days.
Mobile ordering has become increasingly important to Starbucks’ business, as more customers prefer to order from their phones rather than waiting in drive-thru lines or inside stores.
However, mobile orders can quickly overwhelm baristas, especially on days when discounts or freebies are offered. In the latest quarter, mobile order and delivery accounted for a third of the company’s sales.
Nearly two years after the union won its first election at a Starbucks store, more than 360 of Starbucks’ approximately 9,000 company-owned locations have voted to unionize, according to National Labor Relations Board data.
Despite this, no location has yet reached a collective bargaining agreement with the company.
Starbucks has stated that it is working to improve the work experience for its employees by automating repetitive tasks and raising wages. The company recently announced that it will increase employees’ pay by at least 3% starting next year.
“We are constantly striving to improve our partners’ experience and make their jobs easier,” Starbucks Chief Technology Officer Deborah Hall Lefevre said during the company’s investor update in New York City on Nov. 2.
At the same event, Sara Kelly, Starbucks’ Chief Partner Officer, noted that the company has made “meaningful progress” in increasing scheduled hours and will incorporate baristas’ preferences into its scheduling software.
Starbucks has previously faced issues with New York City’s labor laws. In 2022, the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection sued the company for allegedly violating the “just cause” provision of the law by firing a barista involved in union organizing.
If the workers’ allegations are proven, Starbucks could face substantial penalties. Last year, Chipotle paid $20 million to workers and $1 million to the city to settle violations of the Fair Workweek law.
“New York City passed the Fair Work Week law so workers like me would be able to sustain ourselves and our families,” said Alberto Oliart, a Brooklyn barista, in a statement.
“But Starbucks is blatantly ignoring the law, making it difficult for us to survive.”
