QuickTake:

Members of Starbucks Workers United on Friday morning gathered outside the Starbucks shop on Seventh Avenue downtown and called for the company to finalize a fair contract with the union.

Unionized Starbucks baristas from stores in the area chanted and held signs outside a Starbucks shop in Eugene on Friday morning, calling for the company to finalize a contract with the union.

While the demonstration at the store near Seventh Avenue and Washington Street was a practice picket and the shop remained open for customers, Starbucks Workers United has launched a strike authorization vote, with a decision to be announced soon, Lillian DeVane, an organizer for the union, told Lookout Eugene-Springfield. 

The rally was one of several happening around the country, she said. Workers also held a practice picket at the Starbucks at Franklin Boulevard and Villard Street a few weeks ago.

“We’re doing a practice picket to show the company how strong we are,” said Erikk Kaija, 25, who is a bargaining delegate and works at the Starbucks where the practice picket was being held, at 495 W. Seventh Ave. “We’ve asked them repeatedly to come back to bargaining.”

Kaija said the union has “the makings of a really great contract,” but is calling for better hours to address understaffing, higher pay and for the company to resolve unfair labor practice charges. 

The company and the union met for their first bargaining session in April 2024, according to the union’s website. The two parties continued to meet for a year and in April 2025, union delegates voted to reject an economic proposal from the company. The union is asking Starbucks to return to the bargaining table and finalize a fair contract. 

“I have several co-workers that have multiple jobs or worry about being able to pay rent every month,” Kaija said. “If we are providing a worthwhile service, why are we getting table scraps while our CEO is making 6,666 times what we do?”

According to AFL-CIO, a national trade union center, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol’s pay was 6,666 times the median pay of an employee at Starbucks in 2024.

Starbucks said in April that Starbucks Workers United presented an incomplete framework for single-store contracts to their delegates to vote on. The company says it would like the union to return to talks.

In an emailed statement to Lookout Eugene-Springfield, Jaci Anderson, a Starbucks spokesperson, said: “Workers United only represents around 4% of our partners but chose to walk away from the bargaining table. If they’re ready to come back, we’re ready to talk.

“Any agreement needs to reflect the reality that Starbucks already offers the best job in retail, including more than $30 an hour on average in pay and benefits for hourly partners,” the statement continued.

About 600 Starbucks stores around the country are unionized, representing more than 12,000 baristas, according to the union.