More than 1,000 Starbucks baristas went on strike last weekend in protest of the coffee chain’s new dress code, a union representing the workers said Wednesday.
The new dress code — which was announced last month — went into effect on Monday, limiting what workers could wear under the green aprons to a solid black shirt and khaki, black or blue denim pants.
The previous dress code allowed a wider range of colors and patterns that could be worn under aprons.
The company said the new code emphasizes the green apron and creates “a sense of familiarity for our customers.”
Starbucks Workers United, which represents about 11,000 workers at 570 of Starbucks’ 10,000 company-owned U.S. stores, said the “regressive” dress code needs to be subject to collective bargaining and filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board.
“Starbucks has lost its way. Instead of listening to baristas who make the Starbucks experience what it is, they are focused on all the wrong things, like implementing a restrictive new dress code,” Paige Summers, a Starbucks shift supervisor from Maryland, told The Associated Press. “Customers don’t care what color our clothes are when they’re waiting 30 minutes for a latte.”
The union also criticized the company for selling branded apparel to workers that no longer follows the news dress code.
The coffee giant said it was offering two free black shirts to every employee to make the transition easier — which workers said would not be enough clothing for multiple shifts a week.
“Workers shouldn’t need to spend money out-of-pocket to replace perfectly good shirts, pants and shoes when we’re already struggling to get by,” the union captioned an Instagram video of several baristas announcing the strike.
“Starbucks should be focusing on staffing our stores and increasing our hours — NOT cracking down on what shade of black workers are wearing,” the union said in a separate social media thread.
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