RICHMOND, Va. — About a dozen Starbucks employees went on strike outside of 1017 North Arthur Ashe Boulevard in frigid cold temperatures Christmas Eve.
The staff joined more than 300 stores across the country striking what the Starbucks Workers Union calls “unfair labor practices” and “stalled negotiations.”
“We have a lot of supplies. We have hand warmers. We told everyone to dress warmly,” strike captain Jazzy Mueller said.
The employees started their strike at 7 a.m. while chanting “No contract, no coffee.” Workers at other Richmond locations were scheduled to join the strike at Noon.
CBS News reported roughly 5,000 workers expected to join the five-day labor action that comes to a close later in the day, according to the employees’ union.
“There are hundreds of unresolved unfair labor practices that the company has put on with union busting and things like that that the company promised to resolve by the end of the year, and they have not followed through with that,” Mueller explained.