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Downtown Disney Starbucks baristas are on strike and more SoCal locations could join them
An earlier Starbucks strike in New York City. Unionized workers at more Starbucks locations are threatening to strike later this week.
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Adam Gray
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Getty Images North America
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Baristas at the Downtown Disney Starbucks in Anaheim are on strike.
The workers walked off the job on Saturday night, according to a spokesperson for their union Starbucks Workers United, and have been on the picket line since then.
The labor action has closed down the store, the union said in an Instagram post on Monday. The Starbucks website also shows the Downtown Disney location as currently closed.
The strike is part of a nationwide dispute between the union representing workers more than 550 of the coffee chain's locations and Starbucks, who have been bargaining a contract for more than a year. Last week, unionized baristas voted to authorize a strike, accusing Starbucks of refusing to budge on their demands for higher pay and better hours.
“We walked out on an unfair labor practice strike to protest unlawful union busting by Starbucks," striking worker Jeremiah Pettus said in a statement provided by the union. "We’re striking to fight back, to end the union busting and settle a fair contract that actually supports baristas."
Starbucks said in a statement that it's the unionized workers who are refusing to bargain.
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"Our commitment to bargaining hasn’t changed," Starbucks executive Sara Kelly said in a statement last week. "Workers United walked away from the table but if they are ready to come back, we’re ready to talk."
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The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strike in Downtown Disney specifically.
The Downtown Disney walkout could be the first of many. The union said last week that baristas at some Starbucks locations were planning to walk out on "Red Cup Day," an annual event taking place this Thursday where the coffee chain gives out free reusable cups.
"Baristas are prepared to escalate if they don’t see new proposals and substantial progress toward finalizing a contract," a statement from the union states.
The strike won't take place at all Starbucks locations, but it could happen at any unionized Starbucks store. There are a number of them in the L.A. area, including in Little Tokyo, in Van Nuys and Santa Clarita.
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