Oceanside Starbucks rally seeks labor deal with better pay, benefits

A relatively small but vocal group of Starbucks picketers rallied Monday outside an Oceanside store to demand a new contract with better pay and benefits for employees at all locations.

"No contract, no coffee!" came the loud chant of about 15 picketers as part of an effort to reinvigorate negotiations between the Starbucks Workers United labor union and the Seattle-based company that have yet to yield a labor deal.

Starbucks Workers United, which started in 2021 in Buffalo, has grown to more than 12,000 members at 650 locations nationwide, the union said. Starbucks said Monday the union represents a small share of its workforce, roughly 5%, and that it had "fewer new petitions filed in the second half of this fiscal year" for membership.

In the summer, employees at the Oceanside Starbucks on Long Beach Road voted 15-5 to be part of the labor union, Newsday reported. 

Queens resident Sarah Kohler, who works as a Starbucks shift supervisor at a location at the Gallery at Westbury Plaza, said at the Oceanside rally, "We just basically want to be ... treated better, with dignity and respect, when it comes to our health and safety standards, when it comes to dealing with harassment in the workplace."

Starbucks maintains that it stands ready to finish a contract but told Newsday in an email that protests and other union-led actions "have created additional delay in reaching a mutual agreement for single-store contracts."

"Our ‘Back to Starbucks’ investments — like $500 million to put more partners in stores, 18 weeks of parental leave, and industry-leading benefits that add up to about $30 an hour — are helping us keep turnover at record lows and making Starbucks a place more partners recommend as a great place to work," the company said in the email.

The Oceanside rally and dozens of others Monday across the country come as Starbucks works toward a turnaround amid declining sales in stores.

Last week, the company said it was shuttering hundreds of its North American and European locations and laying off 900 employees who don’t work in stores. Earlier this year, Starbucks chairman and CEO Brian Niccol said the coffee giant had terminated 1,100 workers worldwide.

Niccol, who joined Starbucks after being a CEO at Chipotle, has said his aim is to change the organization’s downward financial trajectory through improving order efficiency and making locations more welcoming and comfortable. He has said that the company is preparing to add stores in North America for its upcoming fiscal year.

"Each year, we open and close coffeehouses for a variety of reasons, from financial performance to lease expirations," wrote Niccol in a letter to employees last week. "This is a more significant action that we understand will impact partners and customers."

Starbucks has said that it didn’t prioritize store closures for locations represented by the union.

Despite the Oceanside protest, come customers funneled into the Starbucks while others first stopped outside to watch the rally. Passing motorists honked their horns in support 

Kohler said protesters are sending a clear message.

"We're picketing today without officially going on strike to make sure Starbucks knows what's at stake here, given the direction of where the company is going," Kohler said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

By Tiffany Cusaac-Smith

tiffany.cusaac-smith@newsday.com@T_Cusaac

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith is a general assignment reporter for Newsday. She previously worked at USA TODAY and is an alum of Howard University.