What You Need to Know About
Collective Bargaining

After voting to unionize, Starbucks will negotiate with the union through a process called “collective bargaining”. These meetings are required to be conducted in-person, unless both parties agree otherwise. Starbucks believes in-person negotiations would best facilitate the give and take of negotiations.

Bargaining agreements are complex documents, and the first contract, on average, takes more than a year to complete.

News and Updates

Our long-standing efforts to put our partners first

Read more about our commitment to moving the good-faith bargaining process forward and why Starbucks continues to be the employer of choice for more than 235,000 U.S. partners.

Contesting the merits of a complaint involving our Heritage Market stores

Read more about our position on a recent NLRB complaint involving partner engagement efforts and the formation of our Heritage Market district in Seattle.

Working with the Senate HELP Committee

Read more about outcomes of our constructive dialogue with Chairman Sanders and other Members of the Senate HELP Committee, including our agreement for interim ceo Howard Schultz to testify on behalf of the company on March 29.

Responding to a recent ALJ decision involving several Buffalo-area stores

Read more about our position on the recent decision from an Administrative Law Judge involving several Buffalo-are stores, including our intention to seek a full legal review of the matter.

How Bargaining Works

Step 1

Meeting dates and locations are scheduled. Typically, several rounds of bargaining sessions are needed.

Step 2

Both the employer and the union bargaining committee share their contract proposals.

Step 3

Terms of the contract are debated between both parties. If common ground can’t be found, a mediator – unaffiliated with either group – may be brought in.

Step 4

An agreed-upon contract is presented to union members for a ratification vote.

Step 5

Members accept or reject the contract. If rejected, negotiations begin again or union members will go on strike. If members go on strike, pay for these partners relies on the union’s strike fund or the availability of state benefits as they will not be paid by Starbucks for shifts they do not work.

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