As stated by Starbucks Workers United, the union representing the coffee giant's U.S. employees, over 2,000 baristas across 120 American stores have commenced strike action since Sunday, in protest against the corporation's revised dress code policy.

Starting Monday, Starbucks has implemented new restrictions on employee attire permitted beneath their signature green aprons. According to the updated dress code, baristas working at company-operated and licensed stores in the US and Canada are now required to wear solid black shirts, along with khaki, black, or dark-wash blue jeans.

Under the previous dress code, baristas enjoyed leeway to wear a broader range of dark tones and patterned shirts; Starbucks articulates that the revised guidelines will not only accentuate the iconic green apron but also contribute to a more welcoming and congenial in-store ambiance, fostering a sense of familiarity for patrons.

Conversely, Starbucks Workers United, representing employees at 570 of Starbucks' 10,000 company-operated stores across the United States, posits that dress code stipulations ought to be determined through collective bargaining.

Paige Summers, a Starbucks shift supervisor from Hanover, Maryland, asserted, "Starbucks has lost its way. Rather than heeding the voices of the baristas who constitute the very essence of the Starbucks experience, they're fixated on inconsequential matters, such as implementing a restrictive dress code. Patrons, while languishing for half an hour for a latte, are hardly preoccupied with the minutiae of our attire, are they?"

Summers, among others, also criticized the company for selling Starbucks-branded apparel on its internal website, items that employees are now prohibited from wearing while on the job; Starbucks countered, stating that upon announcing the new dress code, it would gift each employee two complimentary black T-shirts.

On Wednesday, the Starbucks Workers United union announced that a total of 1,000 employees had staged walkouts across 75 stores in the United States. Starbucks responded at the time, stating that the industrial action had a limited impact on its 10,000 stores operating across the US, with some locations experiencing closures lasting less than an hour.

In a statement, Starbucks suggested that, "If the union were to channel the same energy into returning to the negotiating table as it does into protesting in black shirts, the results would be far more impactful. Today, over 99% of our stores are operating as usual, serving customers throughout the week."

Reactions from Associated Press readers to this dress code were mixed. Some argued that Starbucks baristas have little cause for complaint, as many retailers enforce similar dress codes; others suggested that Starbucks should focus on enhancing beverage quality and pricing, as well as ensuring employee satisfaction, rather than obsessing over employee attire.

Maddie Mucklow, who manages a Starbucks branch in Seattle, voiced her support for the newly implemented regulation.

Muklo conceded, "Frankly, I believe this alteration in the dress code has presented certain challenges for the staff at my store. However, it also affords us a more standardised framework, enabling us to project a cohesive team dynamic whilst still permitting individual expression."

Since 2021, Starbucks Workers United has been spearheading unionization efforts across Starbucks stores in the United States; although Starbucks and the union have agreed to resume negotiations in February 2024, a contractual agreement remains elusive.

This week, the union announced it had lodged a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that Starbucks failed to collectively bargain over its new dress code policy.