Astoria Starbucks Workers Protest Against Understaffing, Reduced Hours

ASTORIA, QUEENS — Starbucks workers at Astoria locations protested on Wednesday against understaffing in stores across the country and working hour reductions.

Workers at the Astoria Boulevard and Ditmars locations picketed Wednesday morning, joining 115 union stores demanding Starbucks fully staff stores.

“We want Starbucks shareholders to know how Starbucks is not putting partners first, and we hope our new CEO will enact positive change in the company,” said Faith Bianchi, a worker at the Astoria-Ditmars location.

The workers are protesting against Starbucks’ corporate policy of including two empty chairs in internal meetings to represent one customer and one employee. Partners are instead asking to actually occupy those chairs.

Starbucks workers in NYC filed 10 complaints under the Fair Workweek Law on Wednesday after the coffee chain allegedly slashed work hours and refused to provide fair schedules. Partners filed 28 similar complaints last month.

The National Labor Relations Board has issued over 80 complaints against Starbucks for violating federal labor law amid unionizing campaigns at stores nationwide that started in 2019.

Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is slated to testify before a Senate committee next week about union-busting activity at the coffee chain. Laxman Narasimhan replaced Schultz as CEO earlier than expected this week ahead of the testimony.

“Despite the fact that over 280 Starbucks coffee shops have successfully voted to form a union over the past year, Starbucks has refused to negotiate in good faith to sign a single first contract with their employees,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.

The strike on Wednesday also comes less than a month after Starbucks settled to pay one of its Astoria baristas $20,000 after he was illegally fired following the store’s union election.