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Strike protest! Starbucks 'new dress rules cause dissatisfaction among employees

Published: 2025-12-25 Author:

Last Updated: 2025/12/25, ▲ Click to pay attention| Daily Boutique Coffee Culture Magazine Coffee Factory According to multiple reports from the Associated Press and other reports, since May 11, more than 2000 baristas at 120 Starbucks stores in the United States have launched a strike to protest the company's dress code that began to implement this week. The Starbucks union said on Wednesday that it was employee versus company

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According to multiple reports such as the Associated Press, since May 11, more than 2000 baristas at 120 Starbucks stores in the United States have gone on strike to protest the company's dress code that began to implement this week. The Starbucks union said on Wednesday that it was a strong reaction from employees to the company's non-negotiated imposition of the new uniform policy.

Last month, Starbucks issued a document announcing that it would update employee uniforms, saying that starting from May 12, all stores in North America will implement new dress codes.

According to an official statement, employees must wear black short sleeves, long sleeves or shirts paired with any shade of khaki, black or blue jeans. The company said the change was designed to enhance the visibility of its green aprons by simplifying color choices, allowing baristas to focus on making drinks and connecting with customers, and deepening the public's impression of Starbucks 'iconic symbols.

(Picture comes from Starbucks official website)

However, Starbucks 'new policy to change the dress code for the first time in nearly a decade was opposed by most employees.

It is understood that the last time the company changed its employee dress code was in 2016, when Starbucks lifted strict regulations that restricted employees 'personal style and allowed them to have more freedom of self-expression on the outside, such as canceling "only natural hair color" and "No obvious tattoos" and other policies, relaxed requirements for earrings and allowed a wider range of colors on clothing.

Since the implementation of the relatively free dress policy, many employees have become accustomed to showing a little of their own style at work. Therefore, after hearing that Starbucks is about to uniformly dress, social media exploded. Many people bluntly expressed their dissatisfaction with the dress requirements,"The cup can also draw some smiling faces and personalized patterns, but we have to become mass producers when we wear clothes? "。

Moreover, Starbucks employees pointed out that "Starbucks has lost its way. They don't listen to the voices of front-line baristas, but instead insist on implementing these unnecessary restrictions." In their view, customers who come to the store don't care about the clerk's dress at all. They care about the coffee itself and why it takes 30 minutes to pick up the meal.

In addition, some migrant workers also criticized Starbucks for selling clothes printed with brand logos on its internal website, but prohibited employees from wearing these clothes at work. In response, Starbucks said it has distributed two free black T-shirts to each employee in conjunction with the implementation of the new regulations.

As for the strike, Starbucks said its impact was limited, emphasizing that more than 99% of its approximately 10000 directly operated stores across the United States are still open as usual. According to the company, most of the strikes lasted less than an hour and less than 1% participated.

Starbucks wrote in a statement,"If the union can devote its energy to protesting against black clothes to returning to the negotiating table, everyone will gain more." However, the union has not given up its protest against the new dress code, saying it has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) this week, accusing Starbucks of violating labor laws by changing the dress code without consulting employees.

Picture from: Internet screenshot

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