Baristas Are the Brand
This isn't complicated—it's willpower.
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Activism
/ January 28, 2026
Baristas Are the Brand
The future of Starbucks depends on its workers.
Darrick Hamilton
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Members and supporters of Starbucks Workers United (SWU) picket outside of a New York City location on February 25, 2025. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
When unionized Starbucks baristas walked off the job this past November, they were asserting a fundamental truth about Starbucks itself: Workers are not incidental to the coffee chain’s experience. They are the experience.
From the speed and care with which a drink is made, to the warmth of a familiar greeting in a neighborhood store, the brand value of Starbucks is built on workers’ skill and labor. Customers do not return for a logo alone. They return for the experience—the experience delivered by working people.
Yet, in the United States, the baristas who make the coffee giant what it is are too often treated as costs to be minimized rather than assets in which to invest.
Current Issue
February 2026 Issue
The baristas represented by Workers United who are currently on an unfair-labor-practice strike have been clear about what they are fighting for. Chronic understaffing leaves workers scrambling to meet demand, undermining both job quality and customer service. The average barista does not make a livable wage: The starting wage in 33 states is $15.25 an hour. It is just $16 an hour in another 10 states. Schedules fluctuate with little notice, making it difficult for workers to plan their lives or consistently meet the 20-hour threshold required to access the benefits their employer proudly advertises.
Compounding this instability is the Starbucks 150 percent availability rule, which requires baristas to be available 150 percent of the hours they are actually scheduled to work. With fluctuating schedules, this backdoor method of controlling workers’ time effectively puts them on call just to make ends meet.
And when workers organize to address these issues collectively, they face not good-faith bargaining but aggressive resistance, accompanied by a mountain of labor law violations.
Precarious scheduling, low wages, and understaffing do obvious harm to workers. They also erode the very quality, care, and consistency that Starbucks customers have come to expect in the first place. A company cannot credibly promise community, comfort, and connection while its workforce lives with instability and insecurity.
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol has touted the company’s push for a “turnaround.” But any serious turnaround must begin with recognizing baristas’ fundamental human right to organize and collectively bargain over the conditions that …
This isn't complicated—it's willpower.
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Current Issue
Activism
/ January 28, 2026
Baristas Are the Brand
The future of Starbucks depends on its workers.
Darrick Hamilton
Share
Copy Link
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Ad Policy
Members and supporters of Starbucks Workers United (SWU) picket outside of a New York City location on February 25, 2025. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
When unionized Starbucks baristas walked off the job this past November, they were asserting a fundamental truth about Starbucks itself: Workers are not incidental to the coffee chain’s experience. They are the experience.
From the speed and care with which a drink is made, to the warmth of a familiar greeting in a neighborhood store, the brand value of Starbucks is built on workers’ skill and labor. Customers do not return for a logo alone. They return for the experience—the experience delivered by working people.
Yet, in the United States, the baristas who make the coffee giant what it is are too often treated as costs to be minimized rather than assets in which to invest.
Current Issue
February 2026 Issue
The baristas represented by Workers United who are currently on an unfair-labor-practice strike have been clear about what they are fighting for. Chronic understaffing leaves workers scrambling to meet demand, undermining both job quality and customer service. The average barista does not make a livable wage: The starting wage in 33 states is $15.25 an hour. It is just $16 an hour in another 10 states. Schedules fluctuate with little notice, making it difficult for workers to plan their lives or consistently meet the 20-hour threshold required to access the benefits their employer proudly advertises.
Compounding this instability is the Starbucks 150 percent availability rule, which requires baristas to be available 150 percent of the hours they are actually scheduled to work. With fluctuating schedules, this backdoor method of controlling workers’ time effectively puts them on call just to make ends meet.
And when workers organize to address these issues collectively, they face not good-faith bargaining but aggressive resistance, accompanied by a mountain of labor law violations.
Precarious scheduling, low wages, and understaffing do obvious harm to workers. They also erode the very quality, care, and consistency that Starbucks customers have come to expect in the first place. A company cannot credibly promise community, comfort, and connection while its workforce lives with instability and insecurity.
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol has touted the company’s push for a “turnaround.” But any serious turnaround must begin with recognizing baristas’ fundamental human right to organize and collectively bargain over the conditions that …
Baristas Are the Brand
This isn't complicated—it's willpower.
Log In
Email *
Password *
Remember Me
Forgot Your Password?
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Baristas Are the Brand
Magazine
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Subscribe
Log In
Search
Subscribe
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Magazine
Latest
Archive
Podcasts
Newsletters
Sections
Politics
World
Economy
Culture
Books & the Arts
The Nation
About
Events
Contact Us
Advertise
Current Issue
Activism
/ January 28, 2026
Baristas Are the Brand
The future of Starbucks depends on its workers.
Darrick Hamilton
Share
Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Email
Ad Policy
Members and supporters of Starbucks Workers United (SWU) picket outside of a New York City location on February 25, 2025. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
When unionized Starbucks baristas walked off the job this past November, they were asserting a fundamental truth about Starbucks itself: Workers are not incidental to the coffee chain’s experience. They are the experience.
From the speed and care with which a drink is made, to the warmth of a familiar greeting in a neighborhood store, the brand value of Starbucks is built on workers’ skill and labor. Customers do not return for a logo alone. They return for the experience—the experience delivered by working people.
Yet, in the United States, the baristas who make the coffee giant what it is are too often treated as costs to be minimized rather than assets in which to invest.
Current Issue
February 2026 Issue
The baristas represented by Workers United who are currently on an unfair-labor-practice strike have been clear about what they are fighting for. Chronic understaffing leaves workers scrambling to meet demand, undermining both job quality and customer service. The average barista does not make a livable wage: The starting wage in 33 states is $15.25 an hour. It is just $16 an hour in another 10 states. Schedules fluctuate with little notice, making it difficult for workers to plan their lives or consistently meet the 20-hour threshold required to access the benefits their employer proudly advertises.
Compounding this instability is the Starbucks 150 percent availability rule, which requires baristas to be available 150 percent of the hours they are actually scheduled to work. With fluctuating schedules, this backdoor method of controlling workers’ time effectively puts them on call just to make ends meet.
And when workers organize to address these issues collectively, they face not good-faith bargaining but aggressive resistance, accompanied by a mountain of labor law violations.
Precarious scheduling, low wages, and understaffing do obvious harm to workers. They also erode the very quality, care, and consistency that Starbucks customers have come to expect in the first place. A company cannot credibly promise community, comfort, and connection while its workforce lives with instability and insecurity.
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol has touted the company’s push for a “turnaround.” But any serious turnaround must begin with recognizing baristas’ fundamental human right to organize and collectively bargain over the conditions that …
