With store closures, SBWU renews call for boycott

Starbucks Workers United: “‘Back to Starbucks’ is nothing more than a betrayal of what workers and customers loved about the company”

SEATTLE, WA (September 28, 2026) — News broke last week that Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol had ordered another round of store closures, shuttering the doors on 250 cafes across dozens of states. Six stores are slated for closure in Washington state: one in Vancouver, one in Spokane, one in Redmond, and three in Starbucks’ hometown of Seattle. Two will close in Idaho and four will close in Oregon.

The closures are part of the ‘Back to Starbucks’ strategy to rightsize the company deployed by Niccol — who is paid nearly 1,800 times more than the company’s average worker’s salary. That strategy has seen hundreds of store closures, thousands of layoffs, and notably, no movement at the bargaining table on a collective bargaining agreement with more than 12,000 unionized baristas in the U.S.

Union baristas and supporters rally during a strike kickoff in November of 2025. Photo: The STAND

“‘Back to Starbucks’ is nothing more than a betrayal of what workers and customers loved about the company,” wrote Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) in a statement on social media. “As Starbucks continues to close stores, violate labor law, hike up our healthcare premiums, and betray its core value of belonging to appease right-wing politicians, the company is moving farther away from everything it once was.”

SBWU plans to bargain the effects of store closures for union baristas’ whose jobs are impacted — as they did earlier this year when the company closed four union stores in Seattle, securing two months of pay and benefits, additional severance and funds for COBRA health insurance.

“Starbucks leadership is failing the company, and trouble is brewing for Starbucks,” wrote the union. “When just this month, the country’s most pro-business court of appeals called Starbucks a ‘repeat violator’ of labor law, it’s time for everyone to start paying attention. It has never been more clear why baristas need the backing of a union.”

A collective bargaining agreement protects union baristas voice on the job. So far, Niccol has failed to negotiate a contract with the workers who have direct, hands-on experience with both how the company functions and customers’ experiences and preferences, raising serious questions about the efficacy of any strategy he deploys.

“We love our jobs, and we know Starbucks doesn’t run without us, so we’re organizing together to demand a better future and a fair contract,” wrote SBWU.

With this most recent round of closures, union baristas are renewing their call for a boycott of the company until a fair contract is reached.

“Starbucks is becoming unrecognizable under CEO Brian Niccol – that is why labor allies, elected officials, and customers are all joining together to boycott Starbucks until they finalize a fair union contract.”

Supporters can learn more about the fight for a fair contract at Starbucks and pledge to support the boycott at BoycottStarbucks.net.