A strike by Starbucks baristas protesting the company’s new dress code grew Thursday.

More than 2,000 Starbucks baristas at 120 U.S. stores have gone on strike since Sunday to protest the new dress code, according to Starbucks Workers United, a union representing the coffee giant’s U.S. workers.

From Monday, Starbucks has new rules for workers. They must wear a black shirt and black, blue, or brown pants. This is for workers in the USA and Canada.

Before, baristas could wear more dark colors and shirts with designs. Now, Starbucks says new rules will help green aprons be seen better and make customers feel welcome.

Starbucks workers have a group that speaks for them. This group says the rules about clothes at work should be talked about together.

Paige Summers works at Starbucks in Maryland. She said Starbucks is not doing well. She thinks Starbucks should listen to the people who make the coffee. She thinks the rules about clothes are not important. She said customers do not care about the clothes if they wait a long time for coffee.

Some people said the company was wrong to sell Starbucks clothes that workers can't wear anymore. Starbucks said they would give two black shirts to each worker when they told them about the new rules for clothes.

On Wednesday, the Starbucks Workers Union said 1,000 workers did not work at 75 shops in the U.S. Starbucks said the strike did not change much at its 10,000 U.S. shops. Starbucks said some shops closed for a short time because of the strike.

Starbucks said: "It would be better if the union talked to us instead of protesting. Most of our stores are open and helping customers."

People who read the news had different ideas about the dress code. Some said Starbucks workers should not complain, because other shops also have rules about clothes. Others said Starbucks should make better drinks and keep workers happy, not worry about clothes.

Maddie Mucklow works at a Starbucks in Seattle. She likes the new rules.

Mucklow said, "I think the new clothes rules were hard for the people I work with. But the rules help us know how to dress well for each other, and still show who we are."

Since 2021, Starbucks workers have been joining a group called Starbucks Workers United. Starbucks and the group have not made a deal yet, even after talking in February 2024.

The workers' group said this week they told the Labor Board that Starbucks did not talk about the new clothes rules.