Starbucks will pay about $35 million to more than 15,000 New York City workers to settle claims that it denied them stable schedules and arbitrarily cut their hours, city officials said Monday. The announcement came hours before Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders joined striking baristas on a Brooklyn picket line.
The payout follows a continuing union-led strike that began last month at dozens of locations nationwide. Workers are pushing for better hours and increased staffing, and many are frustrated that Starbucks has not agreed to a contract nearly four years after the first union vote at a Buffalo store. About 550 of Starbucks’ roughly 10,000 company-owned stores are now unionized; the company also has about 7,000 licensed locations in airports, grocery stores and elsewhere.
Company and union representatives differed on the strike’s scale and impact, but Mamdani, Sanders and several state and city officials sought to amplify the baristas’ message by mingling with strikers and supporters outside the Brooklyn shop. “These are not demands of greed — these are demands of decency,” Mamdani said. Sanders added that “Starbucks has refused to sit down and negotiate a fair contract.”
Baristas described chronic short-staffing, complicated online orders that create long tickets, and last-minute calls to come in. “It is the company’s issue to give us the labour amount to schedule partners fairly, and they are not scheduling us fairly, no matter how much money we are making them,” said Gabriel Pierre, 26, a shift supervisor in suburban Bellmore.
Starbucks has been working to recover from a period of lagging sales as inflation-conscious customers scrutinized the value of its products. The company recently reported the first same-store sales increase in nearly two years, but restructuring costs, store redesigns and other changes weighed on profits in the July–September quarter.
Under the agreement with the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, Starbucks will pay $3.4 million in civil penalties in addition to the $35 million in worker payments, and agreed to comply with the city’s Fair Workweek law going forward. The company said it is committed to operating responsibly and following local laws, while noting the complexities of the city’s scheduling rules. “This is notoriously challenging to manage,” spokesperson Jaci Anderson said.
Most affected hourly employees will receive $50 for each week worked from July 2021 through July 2024. Workers who experienced violations after that period may be eligible for compensation by filing a complaint with the department. The settlement also ensures that employees laid off during recent NYC store closings will have an opportunity for reinstatement at other Starbucks locations.
The city launched its investigation in 2022 after receiving dozens of worker complaints; the probe eventually expanded to hundreds of stores. The department found that many employees never received regular schedules, making it difficult to plan for child care, education or other jobs, and that workers were often denied opportunities to pick up extra shifts, leaving them part-time even when they sought more hours.
“I sure hope that it gives Starbucks an awakening,” said Kaari Harsila, 21, a Brooklyn shift supervisor who was picketing Monday.
By Reuters
Dec 2, 2025, 10:27:09 AM IST (Updated)
