Starbucks workers protest mass store closures, layoffs outside Seattle HQ

Starbucks baristas and local union leaders protested outside the company’s headquarters, located in Seattle’s SoDo neighborhood, on Monday, Axios Seattle reported.

The protest was in response to the recent store closures. According to Starbucks Workers United, the store closures left workers jobless without being transferred to other stores.

Starbucks recently closed 28 stores in Washington, including nine in Seattle. Among the nine stores was the Seattle Reserve Roastery and its SoDo Reserve Store. Approximately 900 employees were laid off alongside the store closures.

“It’s crazy to wake up and learn from social media that you lost your job before your company tells you,” Trent Lytle-Hogue, a barista at the Reserve Roastery for two years, said. “Family was texting asking if I’m OK and I barely knew a thing from the 5-minute prerecorded call. Thankfully, our union were the people who cared, who worked to get us more information, who immediately bargained for better severance. Our rally is, ‘An injury to one is an injury to all!’ So Starbucks better be ready for massive actions, even strikes, if they’re not going to finish the contract.”

According to Starbucks, the company has reported its sales have declined for six straight financial quarters.

Second Starbucks protest in Seattle in less than a month

Starbucks Workers United previously led a protest in late September. Workers cited understaffing, low pay, and retaliation for union organizing as reasons for the protest. The gathering follows multiple unfair labor practice charges filed against the company.

The unfair labor practice charges were filed specifically after two instances: When three union organizers at the Seattle Roastery and SoDo Reserve Starbucks were fired, and when Starbucks refused to place baristas from the Georgetown location to work at nearby stores during a temporary remodel of the Georgetown location that suspended work. Starbucks leadership allegedly told the Georgetown employees they are “welcome to seek public assistance” to make up for the lost wages.

“While we remain outraged at how callously Starbucks handled these closures, we are proud that we have forced the company to make this process fairer for impacted union baristas,” Michelle Eisen, Starbucks Workers United spokesperson and a barista for the past 15 years, said. “These measures to support baristas show the power and strength of our union.”

KIRO Newsradio has reached out to Starbucks for comment.

The rally took place in front of Starbucks’ corporate headquarters, located at 2401 Utah Ave S.

Contributing: Tom Brock, KIRO Newsradio

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