Starbucks union votes to authorize strike ahead of last scheduled bargaining session in 2024

Starbucks Workers United said Tuesday that 98% of union baristas have voted to authorize a strike as they seek a contract with the coffee giant.

Bargaining delegates are set to return to negotiations with Starbucks on Tuesday in the last scheduled session of the year with the goal of agreeing on a “foundational framework.� Starbucks and Workers United have spent hundreds of hours this year at the bargaining table, and both sides have put forward dozens of tentative agreements, the union said in a press release.

However, hundreds of unfair labor practice cases still have not been settled, and the union said Starbucks has not yet proposed a comprehensive package that would address barista pay and other benefits.

In a statement to CNBC, Starbucks disputed the unionâ€s characterization and said the company remains committed to reaching a final framework agreement.

“It is disappointing that the union is considering a strike rather than focusing on what have been extremely productive negotiations. Since April weâ€ve scheduled and attended more than eight multi-day bargaining sessions where weâ€ve reached thirty meaningful agreements on dozens of topics Workers United delegates told us were important to them, including many economic issues,â€� the company said in the statement.

The strike authorization shows that relations between the two sides may again be cooling, after thawing in late February when both parties said they found a “constructive path forwardâ€� though mediation. Prior to that point, Starbucks had fought the union boom that swept across its company-owned locations for more than two years. The companyâ€s attempts to curb the union movement led to backlash from some consumers and lawmakers, culminating with former CEO Howard Schultz testifying on Capitol Hill.

Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol, who joined the company in September, committed to bargaining in good faith in a letter addressed to the union in his first weeks on the job.

Niccol announced on Monday that the company would double its paid parental leave, starting in March. However, baristas will reportedly receive a smaller annual pay hike next year than they have in previous years, following a sales slump at its U.S. locations.

More than 500 company-owned Starbucks cafes have voted to unionize under Workers United since the first elections that took place in Buffalo three years ago.