All articles tagged with #baristas
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol is implementing a turnaround plan focused on improving service quality, seating, and customer experience, but baristas are feeling increased pressure due to new policies requiring greeting customers, making eye contact, and writing personalized messages, all while managing complex drinks like the Strawberry Matcha Strato Frappuccino.
Starbucks has expressed its intention to resume contract negotiations with the union representing its baristas in January. Since the first unionization of company-owned Starbucks cafes in the U.S. two years ago, over 360 locations have voted to unionize, but no contracts have been reached. The potential restart of talks offers hope for resolving the high-profile labor dispute, with employees demanding higher pay and improved staffing. Starbucks has insisted on face-to-face negotiations, while the union accuses the company of using this as a stalling tactic. If the union agrees, negotiations could resume in January with a representative set of stores.
Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan has pledged to work a half day every month at one of the company's locations to stay close to the culture and customers. This comes at a time when more than 190 company-owned Starbucks locations have voted to unionize due to unsafe working conditions, understaffing, and unreliable scheduling. Narasimhan joined Starbucks in October and spent 40 hours of barista training. He was previously the CEO of Reckitt and worked at PepsiCo and McKinsey.