‘Weak’ and ‘spoiled’: Jake and Spike blast Starbucks barista strike over new uniforms

Starbucks baristas went on strike nationwide to protest a new company dress code that requires workers to wear specific clothing under their green aprons. The coffee giant said the new uniform—a solid black shirt and khaki, black, or blue denim bottoms—will create a sense of familiarity for customers.

Jake Skorheim and Spike O’Neill, co-hosts of “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio, believe baristas should accept the new dress code and move on.

“I could sum up one word—weak,” Spike said. “If I had to go to a second word, I’d say spoiled.”

Jake agreed, saying, “Spoiled is a great word.”

Starbucks Workers United stated that the union, representing workers at 570 of Starbucks’ U.S. stores, said the dress code should be subject to collective bargaining.

“Starbucks has lost its way,” Paige Summers, a Starbucks shift supervisor from Maryland, said, according to The Associated Press. “Instead of listening to baristas who make the Starbucks experience what it is, they are focused on all the wrong things, like implementing a restrictive new dress code. Customers don’t care what color our clothes are when they’re waiting 30 minutes for a latte.”

Jake did have to agree with Paige on that point.

“She’s right about that. I do care more that, why am I waiting 30 minutes for a latte?” he said.

Spike defends company in Starbucks strike

However, Jake went back to Spike’s original point.

“It does feel spoiled to me,” he said. “Who gives a care? It’s Starbucks’ prerogative. Everybody has to wear a green apron. They’re going to give you the clothes that they’re asking you to wear. So they’re going to give you two Starbucks-issued shirts, which would comply with their new guidelines. They’re not even asking you to go out and buy these.”

Spike agreed, saying if workers want to wear their own clothes, they should find a new job.

“You want to wear your own clothes? Great. Go to a job where you can wear your own clothes. Are you so committed to that shirt? Find a job that doesn’t care what you look like. This CEO came in to revamp the company. To slim down the extravagances of their menu. To get back to what people came to Starbucks for—coffee,” he said.

Listen to the full conversation below:

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.