Starbucks workers union announces pre-Christmas strike in 3 major cities

The workers union representing Starbucks baristas across the country announced members in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle will go on strike in the days leading up to Christmas.

Workers United, which has unionized more than 525 U.S. Starbucks locations, said in a press release Thursday that unfair labor practices and stalled negotiations with the company are the catalyst behind the holiday season strike.

The union says five days of escalating strikes will begin Friday and continue until Dec. 24 in "three of the company's priority markets" during what it called the company's busiest days of the year.

During the strike period, the walkouts "are expected to spread each day and ultimately reach hundreds of stores from coast to coast by Christmas Eve" unless the company honors a February commitment made with the union.

In February 2024, Workers United and Starbucks announced they would work on a "foundational framework" to reach a collective bargaining agreement for stores, something the union says has not come to fruition.

In a statement on Thursday following the strike announcement Starbucks said Workers United delegates "prematurely ended" its bargaining session with the coffee giant this week.

Starbucks added that the company is "focused on enhancing" employee experiences by offering an average wage of $18 per hour and benefits including health care, free college tuition, paid family leave and company stock grants.

"We are ready to continue negotiations to reach agreements," Starbucks said, adding, "We need the union to return to the table."

Workers United, however, said despite "repeatedly pledging publicly" that it intends to reach contracts by the end of the year, Starbucks has not yet presented workers with a "serious economic proposal."

"Nobody wants to strike. It's a last resort, but Starbucks has broken its promise to thousands of baristas and left us with no choice," Fatemeh Alhadjaboodi, a five-year Starbucks barista and bargaining delegate, said in the release.

"In a year when Starbucks invested so many millions in top executive talent, it has failed to present the baristas who make its company run with a viable economic proposal. This is just the beginning. We will do whatever it takes to get the company to honor the commitment it made to us in February," Alhadjaboodi added.

"The holiday season should be magical at Starbucks, but for too many of us, there's a darker side to the peppermint mochas and gingerbread lattes," Arloa Fluhr, a bargaining delegate who has worked off and on at Starbucks for 18 years said in the release.

"I'm a mom of three, including my daughter who is diabetic. I know what it's like to panic because my hours were slashed and I won't be able to pay my bills and could lose access to healthcare, including my daughter's insulin. That's why we're steadfast in our demands for Starbucks to invest in baristas like me," Fluhr added.

Starbucks' full statement said:

"Workers United delegates prematurely ended our bargaining session this week. It is disappointing they didn't return to the table given the progress we've made to date. Since April we've held more than nine bargaining sessions over 20 days. We've reached over thirty (30) meaningful agreements on hundreds of topics Workers United delegates told us were important to them, including many economic issues.

We are focused on enhancing the partner (employee) experience, with over $3 billion invested in the last three years. Starbucks offers a competitive average pay of over $18 per hour, and best-in-class benefits. Taken together they are worth an average of $30 per hour for baristas who work at least 20 hours per week. Benefits include health care, free college tuition, paid family leave and company stock grants. No other retailer offers this kind of comprehensive pay and benefits package.

Workers United proposals call for an immediate increase in the minimum wage of hourly partners by 64%, and by 77% over the life of a three-year year contract. This is not sustainable.

We are ready to continue negotiations to reach agreements. We need the union to return to the table."

ABC News' Zunaira Zaki contributed to this report.