A barista in Chicago has expressed what he calls deteriorating circumstances at Starbucks, blaming new policy and understaffing driving on employees to misery.
“We will be verbally abused and the manager will then point out the things that we do wrong,” said Franco.
“I am pretty sure that this happened hundreds of times, because we are forced to write on cups after we have been shouted by a customer for the long wait.”
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Protesters outside the Starbucks in Oxford Street on November 17, 2022 in London, England. (Guy Smallman / Getty Images / Getty images)
Franco added that the resources of the company should be used to tackle the concerns of baristas instead of creating policy that makes the task more difficult.
“The amount of power and money that Starbucks has behind him, I would think they can sort it out. And they choose not to listen to all the baristas that are already part of the Union,” concluded Franco.
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When Niccol took the reins a year ago, he promised to reset relationships with employees, many of whom push a national trade union campaign, but with little progress on a first trade union contract.
Niccol wrote last September that “he respects the right of partners deeply to choose to be represented by a trade union.”
Starbucks Workers United claims that the company has stuck the negotiations, while Baristas say that Niccol’s “Back to Starbucks” strategy has made daily activities more debilitating.
People pass a Starbucks -coffee shop in Manhattan, New York, United States on January 15, 2025. (Mostafa Bassim / Anadolu via getty images / getty images)
“The biggest problem is understaffing, so some customers have to wait at least 20 minutes,” explained Franco. “They get frustrated, start screaming and demand either to speak or storm with the manager – and we have to continue as if nothing has happened.”
Since December 2021, more than 12,000 Starbucks employees have had in nearly 650 stores compatible. Nevertheless, the progress on a first contract was stuck despite negotiations between April and December 2024.
Niccol has rolled out initiatives that are aimed at improving the customer experience, including require baristas to write notes about cups.
“If I don’t write something on every cup that I grab, I will get into trouble,” said Franco. “I’m going to run the risk of being fired.”
“Since Brian Niccol CEO has been, every introduction of a new policy or new rule has only made the work harder,” said Franco.
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Brian Niccol, CEO of Starbucks, looks up during the Golden Bear Pro-Am Prior to the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday 2025 in Muirfield Village Golf Club on 28 May 2025 in Dublin, Ohio. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images / Getty Images)
While Starbucks record performance Touts is said to be a new sales height marked, but employees say that the financial priorities of the company are out of place.
The company spent $ 81 million on a leadership convention in Las Vegas and is going to billions in shareholders’ benefits. Another point was the compensation package of $ 97.8 million from Niccol in 2024.
“The best times I had at work were when we had more than nine or 10 people there. Now we have four, five, I think on most days,” said Franco.
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Starbucks Workers United argues that completing a first contract would tackle many of the problems that employees are confronted with.
“Starbucks Workers United is ready to complete this contract and move forward,” said Franco.
“Unie Baristas are ready to return to the negotiating table and to do what is needed to complete an honest contract.”
