Starbucks baristas continued their strike on Thursday, disagreeing with the company's new rules about what they can wear.

Starbucks Workers United, a union for the company's U.S. employees, says that over 2,000 baristas at 120 stores across the U.S. have been striking since Sunday, disagreeing with the recently introduced dress code.

From Monday, Starbucks is introducing new rules about what staff can wear under their aprons. The updated dress code requires employees in the US and Canada, working in both company-owned and licensed stores, to wear plain black shirts and trousers or jeans in khaki, black, or dark blue.

Previously, baristas could wear more dark colours and patterned shirts. Starbucks stated the updated rules will highlight their green aprons and give customers a familiar feeling, as they aim to make their stores more welcoming.

However, Starbucks Workers United, the union representing staff in over half a thousand of Starbucks' American stores, believes the dress code should be discussed and agreed upon together.

Paige Summers, a Starbucks supervisor in Hanover, Maryland, believes Starbucks has lost its focus. She argues that instead of valuing the baristas who create the company's atmosphere, Starbucks is prioritising things like a strict new dress code. Summers adds that customers are unlikely to care about employee uniform colours when faced with long waiting times for their drinks.

Summers and others also criticised the company for selling Starbucks-branded clothing online that employees were no longer permitted to wear at work. Starbucks stated that they would provide each employee with two free black T-shirts when the new dress code was announced.

On Wednesday, the Starbucks Workers Union announced that 1,000 employees had participated in walkouts across 75 stores in the US. Starbucks responded that the strike had a minor effect on its 10,000 company-run stores in the country, adding that some stores were only closed for brief periods.

Starbucks stated that it would be better if the union focused on returning to negotiations, rather than protesting by wearing black shirts. They added that over 99% of their stores are currently open and serving customers, as they have been all week.

Readers of the Associated Press expressed varied opinions on the Starbucks dress code, with some arguing that baristas' concerns were unwarranted, as many retailers have similar requirements. Others felt that Starbucks should prioritise improving drink quality and prices, as well as employee satisfaction, rather than focusing on dress codes.

Maddie Mucklow, a Starbucks manager in Seattle, has expressed her support for the new regulations.

Mucklow admitted that the new dress code presented a challenge for her store's employees. However, she believes it creates clearer expectations for professional appearance, allowing them to support each other while still maintaining personal style.

Since 2021, Starbucks employees represented by Workers United have been forming unions in stores across the U.S. Despite agreeing to resume negotiations in February 2024, Starbucks and the union have not yet reached a final agreement.

This week, the union announced they had made a formal complaint to the National Labor Relations Board, claiming Starbucks was not negotiating the new dress code.