Starbucks Barista's new dress code The union representing workers from the coffee giant said Wednesday that more than 1,000 workers protested the new policy.
The new dress code came into effect on Monday, requiring employees in stores operating and licensed in the U.S. and Canada to wear black solid shirts and bottoms of khaki, black or blue denim under their green aprons.
Under previous dress codes, baristas can wear a wider range of dark and patterned shirts. Starbucks said the new regulations will make its green apron stand out and bring a sense of familiarity to customers when they try to build a warmer, more enthusiastic feeling in the store.
New dress codes are working with the company’s “Back to Starbucks” mission, aiming to revitalize cafes and boost sales. CEO Brian Niccol, who was taken from Chipotle to Leader Coffee Chain Last year, said: “There is a common feeling that we have stood out from the core.”
But the union of Starbucks Workers United, which represents 570 workers in the U.S. stores owned by 10,000 Starbucks companies, said dress codes should be negotiated collectively.
"Starbucks has lost its way. Instead of hearing the barista that Starbucks experience, they focus on all the wrong things, such as implementing restrictive new dress codes," said Starbucks from Starbucks in Hanover, Maryland. “Customers don’t care what color our clothes are when they wait for 30 minutes.”
Summers and others have also criticized the company for selling the style of Starbucks-branded outfits that no longer allow employees to work on their internal websites. Starbucks said it will offer two free black T-shirts to each employee when each employee announces new dress codes.
Starbucks said Wednesday that the strike had limited impact on U.S. stores operated by its 10,000 companies.
A Starbucks spokesman told CBS News: "(b) their own measures, less than 1% of stores have participated in the attempt to cause interference."
The company added that more than 99% of stores are open and serve customers. The company noted that in some cases, the strike closed stores for less than an hour.
"If the union brings the same effort back to the table to finalize a reasonable contract, it will be more productive," Starbucks added.
Starbucks workers Manchester United have been in the U.S. Store League since 2021. Despite agreeing to return to the negotiations in February 2024, Starbucks and the union have not reached a contract agreement.
The union said this week it filed a complaint with the National Labor and Industrial Relations Commission accusing Starbucks of failing to bargain.