What Is Behind the Starbucks Barista Coffee Origin Strike

More than 2,000 baristas at 120 Starbucks stores across the United States went on strike from May 11, protesting a new dress code the company began enforcing that week. The union says the uniform policy was rolled out without consultation. The rule requires black shirts paired with khaki, black or blue jeans, a change the company says strengthens recognition of the green apron.

It is the first tightening of dress requirements in nearly a decade. In 2016 the chain loosened its rules, dropping limits on hair color and visible tattoos so employees could express personal style. Workers argue the new policy ignores frontline barista voices and reverses that earlier shift. The dispute now centers on how much say staff have over working conditions at the coffee chain.

Since May 11, more than 2,000 baristas at 120 Starbucks stores across the United States have collectively gone on strike to express strong dissatisfaction with the company's new dress code officially implemented this week. The Starbucks union pointed out on Wednesday that this action is a direct response by employees to the company's forced implementation of a uniform policy without consultation. The new rules require employees to wear black tops paired with khaki, black, or blue jeans, which the company says is intended to strengthen the brand recognition of the green apron. However, this move to tighten dress requirements for the first time in nearly a decade has been opposed by most employees, who believe Starbucks has ignored the voices of frontline baristas.

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According to the Associated Press and multiple other media outlets, since May 11, more than 2,000 baristas at 120 Starbucks stores in the United States have gone on strike to protest the dress code the company began implementing this week. The Starbucks union said on Wednesday that this is a strong backlash by employees against the company's forced rollout of a new uniform policy without consultation.

Last month, Starbucks published an announcement that it would update employee uniforms, stating that starting May 12, all stores in North America would begin implementing new dress requirements.

According to the official statement, employees must wear black short-sleeved, long-sleeved, or button-down shirts, paired with khaki, black, or blue jeans in any shade. The company says this change is meant to enhance the recognizability of its green apron by simplifying color choices, allowing baristas to focus on making drinks and building connections with customers, and deepening the public's impression of Starbucks' iconic symbol.

(Image from the Starbucks official website)

However, Starbucks' new policy of changing dress requirements for the first time in nearly a decade has been opposed by most employees.

It is understood that the company's last change to employee dress requirements was in 2016, when Starbucks eliminated strict rules limiting employees' personal style and allowed them more freedom of self-expression in their appearance, such as removing policies requiring "only natural hair colors" and "no visible tattoos," relaxing requirements on ear accessories, and allowing a broader range of colors in clothing.

With the relatively free dress policy in place until now, many employees have become accustomed to showing a bit of their own style at work, so after hearing that Starbucks was about to unify dress, social media exploded, with many speaking bluntly about their dissatisfaction with the dress requirements: "Cups can still have smiley faces and personalized designs drawn on them, but when it comes to our clothes, we have to become mass-produced people?"

Moreover, Starbucks employees pointed out that "Starbucks has lost its way. They don't listen to frontline baristas, but instead insist on pushing these unnecessary restrictions." In their view, customers who come to the store don't care at all about what staff are wearing; what they care about is the coffee itself and why they have to wait 30 minutes to pick up their order.

In addition, some workers also criticized Starbucks for selling branded logo clothing on its internal website while prohibiting employees from wearing these clothes at work. In response, Starbucks said that to support the implementation of the new rules, it has given each employee two black T-shirts for free.

As for this strike action, Starbucks said the impact was limited, emphasizing that among its roughly 10,000 company-operated stores across the United States, more than 99% are still operating as usual. According to the company, most strike activities lasted less than 1 hour, and the proportion of participants was less than 1%.

Starbucks wrote in a statement, "If the union could put the energy it spends protesting black clothes into returning to the bargaining table, everyone would gain more." However, the union has not given up its protest against the new dress code, saying it has filed a complaint this week with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), accusing Starbucks of arbitrarily changing the dress code without consulting employees, in violation of labor regulations.

Image source: internet screenshot

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