Starbucks baristas in cities across the U.S. have walked off the job just days before Christmas and Amazon workers have joined the wave of labor protests, raising questions about holiday delivery disruptions as peak shopping continues.
Workers in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Seattle began picketing early Friday, pushing for higher pay, improved staffing, and more reliable scheduling. The union representing more than 10,000 Starbucks employees warned that the strikes could grow to include hundreds of locations nationwide if demands are not addressed by Christmas Eve.
“Starbucks management refuses to take these issues seriously, even as stores remain understaffed and employees face mounting workloads,” said a Workers United representative leading the protest.
The five-day strike marks the latest escalation in a long-running standoff between the coffee chain and its employees. In response, Starbucks said it has already made progress during recent bargaining sessions, holding nine meetings since April and finalizing agreements on multiple points.
“We are ready to continue negotiations and reach a resolution,” the company stated. “It’s disappointing the union walked away from the table when progress was being made.”
At Amazon, protests erupted Thursday at seven warehouse locations, including facilities in New York, Atlanta, and San Francisco. Organized by the Teamsters union, the strikes aim to pressure the company into negotiating a labor contract after months of resistance.
Sean O’Brien, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, accused Amazon of refusing to meet its workforce halfway. “Workers are taking a stand because they’ve been left with no other option,” O’Brien said.
Outside an Amazon warehouse in Queens, New York, two individuals were arrested during the protests. Police provided no details on the charges but confirmed both were released with court summonses.
An Amazon spokesperson dismissed the strikes as limited in scope, noting that fewer than 10,000 workers are represented by the union out of the company’s 800,000 U.S. warehouse employees. The company insists its vast logistics network is prepared to absorb the impact.
“We’ve built our operations to handle situations like this,” Amazon said in a statement. “Deliveries remain on schedule, and customers can continue to shop with confidence.”
The full impact of the strikes remains unclear. Starbucks workers say holiday operations could be disrupted if additional locations join the walkouts, while Teamsters officials have warned that prolonged strikes at Amazon could affect deliveries in major metro areas.
