An ongoing strike by unionized Starbucks workers will expand to 300 U.S. stores on Christmas Eve.
According to Starbucks Workers United, more than 5,000 baristas at 300 stores will be on the picket line Tuesday, expanding the strike that began Friday.
The union, which represents workers at more than 500 Starbucks stores in the U.S., had said about 60 stores were forced to close Monday.
Tuesday’s strike is the largest work stoppage in Starbucks history, surpassing the union’s “Red Cup Rebellion” last year in which hundreds of workers walked off the job.
“We were ready to bring the foundational framework home this year, but Starbucks wasn’t,” Workers United President Lynne Fox said in a statement. “After all Starbucks has said about how they value partners throughout the system, we refuse to accept zero immediate investment in baristas’ wages and no resolution of the hundreds of outstanding unfair labor practices. Union baristas know their value, and they’re not going to accept a proposal that doesn’t treat them as true partners.”
Starbucks maintains that the strikes have not dramatically impacted its business, adding that the vast majority of its stores remain open.
The strike comes after contract negotiations broke down between Starbucks and the union. Union representatives rejected a contract offer earlier this month that would have provided for a 1.5% wage increase throughout the contract.
Starbucks claims that the union walked away from the bargaining table prematurely, while Starbucks Workers United says the company has yet to offer a realistic contract.
The strike is a serious setback for relations between the two parties, even as Starbucks maintains that its representatives are working diligently for a deal.
Earlier this year, Starbucks said that it was open to starting contract negotiations with its union, a major change of tone for the company which has been openly hostile to bargaining in the past.
