A burgeoning strike by Starbucks baristas, protesting the company's recently implemented dress code, gained considerable momentum on Thursday.

Over 2,000 Starbucks baristas across 120 US stores have been striking since Sunday, a coordinated action spearheaded by Starbucks Workers United, the union representing the coffee giant's American workforce, in protest against the imposition of a novel dress code.

Effective Monday, Starbucks implemented revised dress code stipulations, circumscribing the apparel options permissible beneath baristas' signature green aprons; the updated policy mandates that employees at both corporate-owned and licensed establishments across the US and Canada adhere to a uniform consisting of a plain black top and trousers in khaki, black, or dark-wash denim.

La política de vestimenta anterior permitía a los baristas exhibir una paleta más diversa de tonos oscuros y camisas con diseños, pero Starbucks argumentó que la nueva normativa realzaría la visibilidad de sus icónicos delantales verdes y fomentaría una atmósfera de familiaridad para los clientes, en su esfuerzo por cultivar un entorno más cálido y hospitalario en sus establecimientos.

Conversely, Starbucks Workers United, the labor union representing employees in 570 out of Starbucks' 10,000 company-operated stores across the U.S., asserted that alterations to the dress code necessitate collective bargaining.

"Paige Summers, a shift supervisor at Starbucks in Hanover, Maryland, asserted that the corporation has lost its way, lamenting their misdirection in prioritizing superficial changes, such as a restrictive new dress code, over valuing the input of baristas who are integral to the Starbucks experience; she further posited that customers are unconcerned with employee attire when faced with protracted wait times for beverages."

Summers, among other critics, lambasted the company for offering Starbucks-branded apparel, mirroring styles no longer sanctioned for employee wear, via its internal website; this occurred despite Starbucks' prior announcement of providing two complimentary black t-shirts to each employee upon the implementation of the revised dress code.

On Wednesday, the Starbucks Workers Union communicated that an aggregate of 1,000 employees had staged walkouts across 75 U.S. locations, prompting a rejoinder from the corporation asserting the industrial action's negligible disruption to its 10,000 company-operated stores nationwide, with the corporation further specifying instances where resultant store closures lasted under an hour.

In a statement, Starbucks asserted that the union would be more effective by prioritizing renewed negotiations rather than focusing on protesting the company's policy regarding black t-shirts, further noting that over 99% of their stores remain open and operational, serving customers throughout the week.

Respondientes a Associated Press expresaron una amalgama de opiniones con respecto al código de vestimenta, oscilando entre quienes desestimaron las quejas de los baristas de Starbucks, argumentando la prevalencia de uniformes en el sector minorista, y aquellos que instaron a la empresa a priorizar la calidad y el precio de sus productos, así como la satisfacción laboral, por encima de la regulación de la indumentaria.

Maddie Mucklow, al frente de un establecimiento de Starbucks en Seattle, manifestó su respaldo a la implementación de la nueva normativa.

"Francamente, considero que la implantación del código de vestimenta supuso un desafío considerable para mis compañeros," admitió Mucklow. "No obstante, establece parámetros más uniformes sobre cómo proyectar una imagen profesional y cohesionada, al tiempo que salvaguarda la posibilidad de expresar nuestra idiosincrasia."

Since 2021, Starbucks Workers United has been spearheading a unionization drive across US stores; however, despite a commitment to renewed negotiations in February 2024, Starbucks and the union have yet to achieve a contractual agreement.

This week, the union announced the filing of a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, contending that Starbucks was failing to bargain in good faith regarding the new dress code.