Starbucks baristas want a raise and they are now striking in Massachusetts. Union members have been striking since last Friday. Not all Starbucks locations are being  affected, however, some locations have closed.

Starbucks employees are striking

The five-day strike began Friday and initially shut down Starbucks locations in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle before spreading to cafes in New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Denver, Pittsburgh and Columbus, Ohio, according to Starbucks Workers United. -telegram.com

What's the issue?

The three big ones: Pay rate, staffing issues, and benefits.

The strike has reached Massachusetts as of Monday with the Washington Street location in Brighton being affected.

Starbucks first opened in Massachusetts in 1994 and now operates about 273 locations in the bay state. There is approximately 11,000 Starbucks locations in the U.S.

Starbucks employees unionized as Starbucks Workers United in 2023

Starbucks said Sunday it offers a benefits package, unlike any other retailer. The company's average pay is above $18 an hour and, when combined with its benefits package, is worth $30 an hour for baristas working at least 20 hours weekly. -wdsu.com

Starbucks says the demands of the workers are just too high and would be unsustainable to manage as a company.

The negotiations have been on going got months now with the unionized employees picking up more "parental leave benefits".

Dunkin, which is the main competitor to Starbucks, has roughly 1050 stores in Massachusetts and their employees are not unionized.

The Starbucks barista strike is expected to grow in the upcoming days.