Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol allegedly took a desperate measure to avoid speaking with a striking employee this past weekend: he reportedly ran directly into Chicago traffic. The footage on TikTok, which quickly went viral, shows a man believed to be Niccol seemingly trying to escape the conversation while a massive nationwide strike is underway against the coffee giant.
The incident happened when a Starbucks barista encountered the group on a Chicago street. The employee, who identified herself as a 10-year veteran of the company, was filming as she approached Niccol and three men in business attire accompanying him. She simply asked if she could say hi, noting, “I’m a Starbucks barista. I would love to just say hi, if he’s related to it at all.” She explained that after a decade of service, meeting the CEO would be meaningful to her.
The men traveling with the executive repeatedly denied that the person in question was Niccol, claiming he was “just a normal person.” Well, that “normal person” then decided to make a very abnormal decision to end the interaction, per DailyDot.
This is an easy way to make someone feel like less of a human
Instead of stopping, the group walked straight into the street against the don’t walk signal. Drivers were not happy about this sudden jaywalking maneuver, and a horn immediately blared at the group as they jogged the rest of the way across the road to escape the employee. The barista, clearly exasperated, commented afterward, “Should probably not cross with cars in the way,” as they made their getaway.
While it is weird he ran into traffic, it is also weird to follow someone with a camera. It makes your intention seem less genuine, and I doubt it was just going to be for a hello. Either way, CEOs have a lot of reason to think that you may want to hurt them since we’ve seen killings recently. Even Elon Musk is afraid today, so I don’t really blame the guy for not thinking this person was a regular person who had no ill intention.
The union, which posted the footage, immediately used the video to highlight the tension between leadership and labor. They noted that thousands of baristas are currently participating in an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike across the country. They argue that under Niccol’s leadership, employees have seen changes that have severely worsened their jobs, including issues with pay, hours, and scheduling. The union is actively asking customers to stop buying Starbucks products at any location until the company “does right by workers.”
The launch of this massive barista strike in early December has caused a huge surge in public support for boycotting the company. It’s important to remember that this coffee giant has fought unionization tooth-and-nail for years. Some people even suspected the company closed its iconic Reserve Capitol Hill location specifically because of unionization efforts happening there. This historical tension makes the video even more striking, as it visually represents the deep divide between the executive suite and the people making the coffee every day.
The union also highlighted the massive pay disparity between the CEO and his workers, pointing out that Niccol made 6,666 times the average Starbucks worker’s salary in 2024. It’s no wonder they captioned the video asking, “Why are you so scared of your own employees, Brian?”
