Starbucks workers conduct 'practice picket' at Springfield store

Starbucks workers at the company's 1008 E. Battlefield Road store in Springfield participated in a "practice picket" Oct. 31 as part of a nationwide movement.

Around 20 workers and supporters engaged in the hour-long demonstration starting at 1 p.m. outside the store, which was not in operation during that time.

Verraine Fritz, a Battlefield Road store employee who also helped lead a demonstration last year, said the event was intended to bring Starbucks' attention to worker conditions and wage concerns. 

"This is a practice picket, which is to say this is our effort to show Starbucks that we are ready to do whatever it takes to get ourselves a fair contract," she said. "We're mobilizing allies and workers to show them that we're ready to do this for real should they not come back to the bargaining table."

Liz Wertz, who is an organizer with the local chapter of the Jobs With Justice initiative, spoke to the crowd organized outside the store.

"Starbucks is a billion-dollar company. If they can afford to pay executives millions in bonuses but somehow struggle to ensure its workers earn a living wage or basic benefits, let's call it what it is: corporate greed," she said. "Workers aren't asking for luxury. They're asking for security. They're asking for respect. They're asking for a seat at the table they've helped build because Starbucks' success is based and relies on their workers."

The workers are represented by Starbucks Workers United, a part of the Workers United labor union that's affiliated with Service Employees International Union.

In a news release, Starbucks Workers United said the Springfield event is one of 70 demonstrations planned in 60 cities nationwide. Workers are reportedly seeking better hours and pay, according to the release, which pointed to alleged unfair labor practices by the company.

“Starbucks knows where we stand. They know our demands: more take-home pay, better hours, resolving legal issues. It’s time to finalize a contract this fall before the all-important holiday season,” said Michelle Eisen, Starbucks Workers United spokesperson and a 15-year barista, in the release. “We remain ready to negotiate whenever Starbucks is willing to bargain in good faith and offer new proposals that address our demands."

Jaci Anderson, a spokesperson for Starbucks, said in a statement provided to Springfield Business Journal that Workers United represents about 4% of employees and said that the union had chosen "to walk away from the bargaining table."

"If they’re ready to come back, we’re ready to talk," Anderson said in the statement. "Any agreement needs to reflect the reality that Starbucks already offers the best job in retail, including more than $30 an hour on average in pay and benefits for hourly partners. We’re investing over $500 million to put more partners in stores during busy times. The facts show people like working at Starbucks.

"Partner engagement is up, turnover is nearly half the industry average and we get more than 1 million job applications a year."

In the company's fourth-quarter earnings call, Starbucks Chair and CEO Brian Niccol said "partner turnover is at a record low, partner engagement is strong and customer experience scores continue to improve," according to a transcript included in a news release from the coffee chain. Partner is the word Starbucks uses to describe employees.

During the latest quarter, the company ended a nearly two-year-old sales slump by reporting global same-store sales growth for the first time since 2023. Starbucks' global same-store sales rose by 1% after six consecutive quarters of decreases. 

"We set a plan, we’re working the plan, and that plan is working," Niccol said in the earnings call. "There’s more to do, but we took a major step forward in the quarter."