Bargaining between Starbucks Workers United and the international coffee chain has been at a standstill for months, but shops have continued to join the union.
Nearly four years after the first Starbucks coffee shop unionized, workers still don’t have a contract.
Baristas at 43 shops in Oregon have joined Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) since early 2022, including four Portland shops that voted unanimously to unionize so far this year. Oregon has one of the highest percentages of unionized Starbucks shops in the country.
“Some of the stores in Portland have been closed as a form of union busting, but it still doesn’t beat us down,” Aspen Maxwell, a Starbucks barista and union organizer, told the Labor Press. “We’re still watching new stores file new elections and organize their coworkers.”
Starbucks and the union bargained through most of 2024, until negotiations fell apart in December. The two sides met with mediators in March and April 2025 but haven’t bargained since. In April, nearly 500 union delegates voted 81% to reject Starbucks’ framework offer, which guaranteed annual raises of at least 2% but didn’t offer immediate raises or changes to other benefits.
“Mediation was unsuccessful and it became clear that it was nothing more than another stalling tactic by Starbucks,” Michelle Eisen, a 15-year Starbucks barista and union spokesperson, said in a statement provided by the union.
The union has started threatening to strike.
Maggie Bolden works at the Starbucks drive-thru at 126th and Division, which unionized in March.
“Our number one and two priorities are making a livable wage and having a guaranteed schedule. Those things are really what makes working at this job feasible, and that’s why our store organized,” Bolden said.
Bolden said workers at her location and other shops have recently had their hours cut.
“It’s at the store manager’s whim when and how much they want to schedule you… People will go from working 30 hours a week to working 16 hours a week, with no explanation. And then opening one day and closing the next. So (it’s) hard to plan your life around,” she said.
SBWU did not respond to questions about its wage proposals or current wages. Starbucks job listings for baristas in the Portland area advertise pay of $16.40 to $18.62 per hour.
“We estimate that all Starbucks has to do to reach a fair contract is invest the equivalent of an average day’s sales to address the economic issues that remain, including increasing our take-home pay and improving hours and staffing,” Eisen said in a written statement, noting that Starbucks paid CEO Brian Niccol $96 million in his first four months on the job.
Eisen said the union’s third demand is to address the hundreds of unfair labor practice charges that SBWU has filed against Starbucks. There are more than 30 open charges against Starbucks in Oregon.
OREGON/SW WASHINGTON STARBUCKS STORES WHERE WORKERS HAVE VOTED TO UNIONIZE
- EUGENE 2830 Willamette St. (April 13, 2022; 17-0)
- EUGENE 1895 Franklin Blvd. (April 28, 2022; 17-0)
- EUGENE 495 West 7th Ave. (April 28, 2022; 12-1)
- EUGENE 3003 N Delta Hwy. (April 28, 2022; 10-1)
- EUGENE 1395 University St. (April 28, 2022; 19-0)
- EUGENE 3110 W. 11th Ave. (May 5, 2022; 7-2)
- EUGENE 1115 Valley River Dr. (May 5, 2022; 10-3)
- PORTLAND 2328 W Burnside St. (May 17, 2022; 7-2)
- PORTLAND 2880 SE Powell Blvd. (May 17, 2022; 14-2)
- PORTLAND 555 SW Oak St. (May 17, 2022; 5-0)
- PORTLAND 525 NE Grand Ave. (May 17, 2022; 9-0)
- PORTLAND 7001 SE Milwaukie Ave. (May 24, 2022; 9-1)
- BEAVERTON 16175 SW Walker Rd. (June 2, 2022; 12-5)
- BEAVERTON 2933 SW Cedar Hills Blvd. (June 2, 2022; 10-2)
- PORTLAND 7315 SW Garden Home Rd. (June 2, 2022; 12-1)
- PORTLAND 12235 N Center Ave. (Jantzen Beach) (June 7, 2022; 10-5)
- PORTLAND 1102 NW Lovejoy St. (June 23, 2022; 8-0) Note: Starbucks permanently closed this store several weeks after the union election.
- GRESHAM 2233 E Burnside Rd. (June 28, 2022; 14-3)
- HAPPY VALLEY 9610 SE 82nd Ave. (July 8, 2022; 16-0)
- PORTLAND 401 SW Morrison St. (Aug. 4, 2022; 6-1) Note: Starbucks permanently closed this store shortly before ballots were counted.
- SALEM 3904 Commercial St. SE (Aug. 9, 2022; 13-2)
- PORTLAND 6080 S Macadam Ave. (Aug. 10, 2022; 8-1)
- SPRINGFIELD 1810 Pioneer Pkwy. W. (Sept. 20, 2022; 5-3)
- PORTLAND 10215 SE Stark St. (Jan. 31, 2023; 13-3)
- PORTLAND 720 SW Broadway Ave. (March 3, 2023; 15-3)
- HILLSBORO 2002 NE Stucki Ave. (March 17, 2023; 15-0)
- ASHLAND 512 Walker Ave. (April 21, 2023; 13-10)
- PORTLAND 1742 SW 6th Ave. (April 28, 2023; 14-0)
- LINCOLN CITY 3350 NE Hwy. 101 (May 8, 2023; 15-2)
- VANCOUVER 304 W 8th St. (July 16, 2023; 11-2)
- BEAVERTON 9350 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy. (Aug. 15, 2023; 18-3)
- SALEM 1124 Wallace Rd. NW (Aug. 17, 2023; 17-0)
- HILLSBORO 2995 SE 75th Ave. (Jan. 18, 2024; 10-7)
- MEDFORD 2372 W Main St. (Feb. 1, 2024; 11-4)
- SALEM 3270 Lancaster Dr. (May 14, 2024; 14-2)
- PORTLAND 2803 E Burnside St. (May 30, 2024; 7-2)
- PORTLAND 10413 SE 82nd Ave. (Aug. 20, 2024; 9-5)
- BEAVERTON 3590 SW Cedar Hills Blvd. (Nov. 12, 2024; 9-7)
- DAMASCUS 17328 SE Sunnyside Rd. (March 6, 2025; 9-6)
- PORTLAND 12613 SE Division St. (March 7, 2025; 15-0)
- PORTLAND 7737 SW Capitol Hwy. (May 23, 2025; 9-0)
- PORTLAND SW Barbur Blvd. (July 1, 2025; 9-0)
- PORTLAND 10119 NE Cascades Pkwy. (July 8, 2025; 14-0)
- PORTLAND 3623 SE Powell Blvd. (Sept. 8, 2025; 9-2)
