Saturday, December 21

Today is the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere-- the shortest day of the year. However, for the southern hemisphere, today is the summer solstice-- the longest day of the year.

The Starbucks Workers United union has confirmed that they will be going on strike in three major cities for the next five days, which includes the major holiday of Christmas.

The Starbucks Workers United union began forming in 2021 and has over 10,500 members across more than 500 Starbucks locations across the United States. The union claims that baristas have been underpaid and overworked over the course of 2024, sparking outrage across the group.

Yesterday, the union began a five-day strike in three major cities: Los Angeles, Chicago, and Seattle, aiming to disrupt the company's sales amid a busy Christmas season. Starbucks confirmed that the strike had a minor impact, though, with a mere 10 stores closed out of their over 16,000 stores across the United States.

Back in February, Starbucks vowed to establish a new labor agreement by the end of this year, providing new benefits and raising wages for baristas. However, they have still not fulfilled that promise, angering union members. In addition, employees have filed numerous unfair labor practice charges against Starbucks in recent months, which will pose as a legal issue for the company.

Since April, Starbucks has conducted nine different negotiation sessions and has come to around 30 agreements. Starbucks has stated that they are ready to resume negotiations over a new agreement, but they claim the union is failing to cooperate. They reported that Workers United ended a negotiation session early this week, preventing further talks from taking place.

The union is primarily trying to raise wages for baristas, but Starbucks has not given any sort of serious proposal so far. Starbucks declared that the union aims to increase the minimum wage for hourly workers by 64%, effective immediately, and wants to further increase that to 77% over the next three years. However, the company argued that their average minimum wage is $18 an hour, and Starbucks claims that their benefits raise its worth to around $30 per hour for employees who work more than 20 hours a week.

While negotiations are continuing between Starbucks and Workers United, there will still be marginal impacts across Los Angeles, Chicago, and Seattle as the strike continues through Christmas. However, it is unknown when the two groups will come to an agreement or when the strike will come to an end.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): Chameleons do not blend in with their surroundings. Instead, they change color based on their mood or temperature-- neither of which have anything to do with what is around them.

Quote of the Day: A bad workman quarrels with his tools. (Bengali Proverb)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Beatific (adj, pronounced bee-uh-TIFF-ik)- Beatific is a formal word that describes something or someone having a blissful appearance or showing complete happiness.

In a Sentence: As the pair danced, beatific smiles on their faces, the audience sat hushed and almost reverential.