Coffee drinkers stopping by Ashland’s Walker Avenue Starbucks for a Wednesday morning pick-me-up were met with temporarily shuttered doors following a union strike by Starbucks workers held earlier in the day.
A post on the Ashland Starbucks Workers United Instagram page later in the day confirmed the Ashland Starbucks strike, due to primarily a new dress code implemented by incoming Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol on Monday, in addition to continued concerns about low wages.
The baristas were among more than 1,000 Starbucks workers nationwide to protest the new changes.
The new dress code requires baristas return to wearing black shirts under their green aprons and khakis, black pants or denim bottoms, according to The Associated Press. The change in dress code is one of many changes implemented by Niccol, who previously served as CEO of Chipotle.
“The company once again has decided to mess with baristas ability to work and live and we are not standing for it,” read the Instagram post. “The strike was a phenomenal success with plenty of support from our town.”
Byers Sullivan, a barista at ReMix located across the street, told Ashland.news she had been at work since 6:30 a.m., and confirmed seeing a color-coordinated, small group of Starbucks employees with signs outside the store earlier on Wednesday. An area Starbucks manager displayed a temporary closure sign on the front entrance door by mid-morning.
“From what I saw, this was pretty peaceful,” Sullivan said. “I didn’t see any disturbances or anything. A lot of the (Starbucks) employees came in (to ReMix) and we gave them drinks.
“They’re all very sweet people,” Sullivan added.
The storefront, located at 512 Walker Ave., petitioned to unionize in 2023, as reported by Ashland.news, and has since joined Starbucks Workers United.
Store employees also held a strike on Dec. 24, 2024, according to the store’s Instagram, calling for better living wages, as some employees “can’t afford rent.”
Starbucks Workers United has been unionizing U.S. stores since 2021, according to the AP. Starbucks and the union have yet to reach a contract agreement, despite agreeing to return to the bargaining table in February 2024, also reported by AP.
The union said this week that it filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board alleging Starbucks’ failure to bargain over the new dress code.
Starbucks corporate did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Ashland.news.
Email Ashland.news staff reporter Holly Dillemuth at hollyd@ashland.news. This story first appeared at Ashland.news.
