Starbucks Baristas Strike After Company Bans Their Favorite Clothes From Work

Can your employer dictate exactly what you wear? Starbucks workers are drawing a line in the sand.

A company decision about clothing has sparked walkouts across the country.

What Sparked the Walkout?

The dispute centers on a newly implemented dress code by the coffee giant.

Starting this week, Starbucks put stricter limits on what employees can wear under their signature green aprons.

The updated rules require baristas in the U.S. and Canada to wear solid black shirts and bottoms that are either khaki, black, or blue denim.

This is a change from the previous guidelines, which allowed for a wider variety of darker colors and even some patterned shirts.

Starbucks stated the new rules are intended to make the green aprons stand out more.

The company also believes the change will create a sense of familiarity and a warmer atmosphere for customers in its stores.

Union Voices Opposition

Starbucks Workers United, the union representing workers at some of the company’s U.S. stores, quickly pushed back.

They argue that changes to working conditions like the dress code should be a matter for collective bargaining.

The union claims Starbucks is focusing on the wrong issues instead of listening to its front-line employees.

“Starbucks has lost its way. 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,” said Paige Summers, a Starbucks shift supervisor from Hanover, Maryland. “Customers don’t care what color our clothes are when they’re waiting 30 minutes for a latte.”

Another point of contention raised by workers is that Starbucks reportedly sells company-branded apparel on an internal site that employees are no longer allowed to wear to work under the new rules.

Starbucks did provide each employee with two free black T-shirts when the new dress code was announced.

Mixed Reactions Emerge

The public reaction to the dress code change and the subsequent strike has been varied.

Some customers and observers feel the baristas are making a big deal out of a minor issue.

They point out that many other retailers require employees to wear specific uniforms or adhere to strict dress codes.

Others sympathize with the workers, suggesting Starbucks should prioritize employee happiness and service quality over clothing rules.

Inside the company, opinions also differ.

Maddie Mucklow, who manages a Starbucks store in Seattle, supports the new rules.

“I’ll be honest, I think the dress code was a difficult change for the partners at my store,” Mucklow said. “But the dress code gives us a more consistent boundary for how to show up best for each other while still expressing our individuality.”

Part of Ongoing Tensions

This dress code dispute comes amidst a larger effort by Starbucks Workers United to unionize stores across the United States, an initiative that began in 2021.

Despite agreeing to resume negotiations in February 2024, Starbucks and the union have yet to reach a comprehensive contract agreement for the stores that have voted to unionize.

The union stated this week that it has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

They allege that Starbucks’ implementation of the new dress code without bargaining constitutes an unfair labor practice.

According to Starbucks Workers United, more than 2,000 baristas at 120 U.S. stores have participated in the strike since Sunday.

However, Starbucks maintains that the strike has had a minimal impact on its extensive operations.

The company stated that over 99% of its 10,000 company-operated U.S. stores remained open and serving customers throughout the week.

Starbucks also noted that where strikes did occur, they sometimes resulted in store closures lasting less than an hour.

“It would be more productive if the union would put the same effort into coming back to the table that they’re putting into protesting wearing black shirts to work,” Starbucks said in a statement.

The disagreement over the new dress code highlights the ongoing tensions between Starbucks and the union as they navigate negotiations and differing views on company policy and worker rights.