‘Twas the strike before Christmas, when all through the land, many workers were stirring, each taking a stand. 

In today’s news and commentary, Starbucks and Amazon strikes escalate, and Volkswagen reaches a union deal to cut 35,000 German jobs.

“Jingle bells, coffee sells, so why are we all broke?” It’s day three of Starbucks baristas’ five-day escalating strike, set to run through Christmas Eve. Walkouts began on Friday at a dozen locations across Los Angeles, Chicago, and Seattle, and as of Sunday had expanded to stores in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Columbus, Denver, and Pittsburgh. Starbucks Workers United, which represents 10,000 baristas at over 500 Starbucks locations, has warned “hundreds of stores” will be struck by Tuesday. Baristas resoundingly authorized the strikes last week in response to alleged surface bargaining by the coffee chain’s negotiators. Despite a self-imposed end-of-year deadline and several bargaining sessions, Starbucks hasn’t agreed to — and has failed to propose — any immediate wage gains for baristas, according to the union. The company has only guaranteed 1.5% wage increases in future years, barely half the current rate of inflation. The union supports a $20 per hour base wage for all baristas, who currently earn a minimum of $15.25 and an average of just over $18 an hour. Connor Brennan, a barista at one Chicago store, told the New York Times: “the deal the company was offering us just wasn’t close to where it needs to be.”

Since Amazon workers began striking on Thursday, workers at two major facilities have joined the picket-line. Luke reported on the Teamsters-led strike earlier this week, which began after Amazon failed to respond to the union’s contract negotiation deadline. Workers at KBSD in San Bernadino, CA, Amazon’s largest West Coast air hub, walked off the job at noon on Saturday. Ayden Huett, a worker at the facility, said in a statement: “We don’t want to be on the picket line this close to the holidays, but Amazon left us no other option. Amazon has shown time and again that they will not improve how they treat us unless we fight. And that’s exactly what we’re doing.” Workers at JFK8 in Staten Island, NY, the only Amazon facility where workers have won a union election, joined the walkouts, too. Since the 2022 union victory, Amazon has refused to bargain with JFK8 workers, and an intense legal — and organizing — battle has ensued. The company’s anti-union tactics in the lead up to the JFK8 election formed the factual basis for the NLRB’s major decision last month banning captive audience meetings. 

After a marathon 70-hour negotiation, Volkswagen and union leaders reached a deal to cut 35,000 jobs by 2030, approximately one-quarter of the automaker’s German workforce. Despite the drastic cost-cutting measures, union leaders hailed the agreement as a win — a “Christmas miracle” — given that Volkswagen backed off from plant closures, immediate layoffs, and a proposed 10% wage cut. The head negotiator for IG Metall, Germany’s most powerful union, said the cuts would be “done in a socially responsible manner.” The deal follows two strikes over the past month encompassing 100,000 Volkswagen employees, and responds to concerns about the company’s fiscal state in the face of stiff competition from Chinese automakers and softening demand across Europe.