Workers at one Starbucks in Center City are striking for 24 hours

Workers at a Starbucks in Center City who voted last month to unionize began a 24-hour strike Friday morning to protest what they allege are the company’s union-busting tactics.

The workers at the Starbucks at 12th and Walnut Streets voted in June to become the fifth unionized Starbucks in Philadelphia. Workers at the four other stores voted in favor of unionizing in May.

The strike started at 5:30 a.m. Friday and was scheduled to conclude at 5:25 a.m. Saturday.

Starbucks Workers United said workers at the 12th and Walnut store allege intimidation, retaliation, and other abuses. Employees say that hours have been less steady than before they unionized, which they see as retaliation.

Supervisor Kat Pfligler told reporters that some of their demands include the termination of their store manager and a request that Starbucks bargain in good faith. “Thus far, the only way they’ve recognized our union is by union busting,” they said.

With employees on strike, the store was closed Friday.

“We respect our partners’ right to engage in any legally protected activity or protest without retaliation,” Starbucks said in a statement Friday.

Workers outside the Starbucks held signs and marched Friday. One leader chanted, “What’s outrageous?” as others replied “Starbucks wages.”

“What’s appalling?” he chanted.

“Bosses stalling,” workers replied.

At 2 p.m., a rotating group of picketing workers and supporters from such groups as Philly DSA and Philly Socialists took a break to hydrate. Supporters and random passersby donated packs of Gatorade, ice, and several boxes of pizza. The temperature had already reached 95 degrees.

Alexei Iffland, 29, said employees were not going to stop speaking out until they saw material changes to work conditions, which have real-life consequences for people such as him.

Iffland makes $12.98 an hour despite years of retail experience. And though he qualifies for health insurance through Starbucks, the cost is too high for him to buy in. He is enrolled in Medicaid.

Iffland said he initially was attracted to the company because the company sells itself as inclusive and diverse, and he knew many transgender and queer employees working there.

“You get sweetened up with these promises but they’re not real,” he said. “They’re words, not actions.”

Workers at nearly 200 Starbucks stores across the United States have unionized, the labor organization said.

Last week, the company announced it was closing its store at 10th and Chestnut Streets, along with 15 other locations elsewhere in the country.

The company cited safety concerns among the workforce and said the unionization drives had nothing to do with closing decisions. The 10th and Chestnut Street store is not one of the locations where workers voted to unionize.

The coffee giant reported an estimated $29 billion in annual revenue and 383,000 employees worldwide in 2021.

Staff photographer Alejandro A. Alvarez contributed to this article.

The Philadelphia Inquirer is one of more than 20 news organizations producing Broke in Philly, a collaborative reporting project on solutions to poverty and the city’s push toward economic justice. See all of our reporting at brokeinphilly.org.