The Latest Breaking News from Workers United

Weak labor laws allow the coffee giant to avoid contract talks.

The tally at the world’s largest location for the coffee chain deals a blow to the aspirations of Workers United, part of the Service Employees International Union.

"I strongly feel this is in retaliation to the committee announcement and it’s shameful," one fired employee said.

Tesla Inc. workers in New York state are launching a unionization campaign, teeing up a potential first for the electric-vehicle maker and the latest labor challenge for Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk.

CHICAGO — As snow fell on the picket line outside a Bucktown Starbucks in November, striking unionized baristas kept warm with cups of Colectivo Coffee, which is brewed by members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, a union that also represents baristas at Chicago-based Intelligentsia Coffee.

Voting for a union is one thing; achieving a contract is quite another if the employer is in no hurry to begin bargaining.

More than 1,000 baristas are planning to walk out, according to Starbucks Workers United. More than 264 of Starbucks' 9,000 company-run U.S. stores have voted to unionize since late last year.

The strikes are expected at stores that have unionized, targeting four Chicago locations and sites in Cary and Glenview.

Starbucks workers around the U.S. are planning a three-day strike starting Friday