SEATTLE — Baristas at a Starbucks near the University of Washington Seattle campus walked out of work on Monday, saying they weren’t adequately staffed to handle the crowds that came for the free coffee promotion.
On the Monday following the Super Bowl, the coffee giant offered free coffee to members following the “worst Monday of the Year.”
In a viral video online, one barista lamented that customers did not understand the promotion and many of them expected free matcha lattes and frappuccino’s and flavored drinks instead of just a hot or iced tall coffee.
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The baristas said they were not adequately staffed for such an influx of crowds and felt the working conditions were “unsafe.”
@sbworkersunited ✊Starbucks spent MILLIONS advertising a Super Bowl promotion for free coffee on Monday - but failed to staff stores for the extra traffic. Amid complaints of poor promo communication & long waits, baristas at the U Way store in Seattle WALKED OUT on ULP strike! If Starbucks can spend $7mill+ on a single ad (and pay CEO Brian Niccol $800k a DAY), they can afford to staff stores and pay us a living wage. The time to organize is now ✊🔥#starbucks #news #fyp #strike #retail #customerservice
♬ original sound - SBWorkersUnited
In that video, one barista asks the customers to “please support us and walk out the lobby with the baristas.”
The customers and employees walked out of the University Way location around 5 p.m.
In a statement to KIRO, Starbucks said:
“We respect our partners’ right to engage in lawful strike activity. Our University Way store closed briefly yesterday evening – customers were served throughout the day, including many whose day was uplifted by our Starbucks Monday promotion. We work hard to make sure our stores are staffed to meet the needs of the store, including yesterday and on other promotional days. It allows our partners to deliver the Starbucks Experience our customers expect.”
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