On Thursday, the barista-led Starbucks labor action, catalyzed by protests against the corporation's newly implemented dress code, experienced a significant escalation, metastasizing beyond initial projections.

According to Workers United, the union representing Starbucks employees in the U.S., upwards of 2,000 baristas across 120 American stores initiated strike action from last Sunday onwards, dissenting against the imposition of novel and contentious sartorial regulations.

自週一始，星巴克已頒布新規，嚴格規範咖啡師於標誌性綠圍裙下之服裝儀容，明文限定美國及加拿大直營暨授權門市之員工，一律著純黑素面襯衫，下身則限卡其、黑或深藍色丹寧長褲，以期形塑更趨一致且專業之品牌形象。

Prior sartorial stipulations afforded baristas greater latitude in donning darker hues and patterned shirts; Starbucks avers that the revised protocols will amplify the salience of their verdant aprons, concurrently cultivating a sense of reassuring familiarity for patrons amidst ongoing endeavors to engender a more convivial and intimate ambiance within their establishments.

However, Workers United, the union representing employees at 570 of Starbucks' 10,000 company-operated stores across the United States, posited that the aforementioned dress code was a matter subject to determination via collective bargaining, thereby necessitating its inclusion in ongoing or future negotiations.

馬里蘭州漢諾威星巴克的值班主管佩奇·薩默斯精闢地指出：「星巴克已然偏離其核心價值。管理階層非但沒有採納那些塑造星巴克體驗的咖啡師們的真知灼見，反而一意孤行地推行一套過於嚴苛的服裝規範。試想，當顧客苦候三十分鐘才得償一杯拿鐵時，他們又豈會在意咖啡師所著服裝的顏色是否合乎規範？」

Summers et al. further excoriated the corporation's internecine merchandising of Starbucks-branded apparel, items rendered *de facto* contraband by extant employee dress codes; Starbucks countered, stipulating the gratuitous provision of two black T-shirts *per capita* upon promulgation of the aforementioned sartorial restrictions.

週三，星巴克工會聲明，旗下逾千名員工於全美75間門市發起協同退工行動，旨在對資方施壓。彼時，星巴克回應稱，該次罷工對其於美國本土直營之一萬間分店營運構成之影響甚微，且於若干案例中，門市停擺時長未及一小時，故影響可謂杯水車薪。

Starbucks, in a formal statement, posited that it would be markedly more efficacious were the union to redirect its energies toward resuming negotiations, rather than limiting its efforts to symbolic displays of dissent through the wearing of black attire; the corporation further asserted that over 99% of its locations remain operational and have consistently provided services to patrons throughout the preceding week.

Amidst the Associated Press's readership, divergent perspectives surfaced regarding the sartorial diktat; while some posited that baristas' grievances lacked substantial foundation, given the prevalent adherence to mandated attire across the retail spectrum, others contended that Starbucks ought to prioritise substantive enhancements in beverage quality, judicious pricing strategies, and the elevation of employee morale, rather than engaging in superfluous micromanagement of employees' sartorial choices.

瑪蒂·馬克勞，西雅圖某星巴克分店的運營經理，明確表達了對該新規定鼎力支持的立場。

馬克勞陳述道：「毋庸諱言，我認為此番變更對於店內同仁而言，實屬一次幅度不小的調整。然此項規範為吾等擘劃出一套更具連貫性的準繩，既能彰顯個人特質，又能確保同儕以臻於至善之姿相互協作。」

自 2021 年以降，星巴克員工聯盟便矢志不渝地於美利堅合眾國境內各門市據點倡議工會化，然迄至 2024 年 2 月，縱使勞資雙方允諾重啟協商，星巴克公司與工會組織於契約協議方面，進展遲滯，迄今仍未克竟全功。

本週，工會正式照會全國勞資關係委員會，提交申訴，聲稱星巴克就其全新服儀規範，悍然拒絕啟動集體協商，實屬對工會協商權之蔑視與侵犯。