“No contract, no coffee!”

This chant and others echoed at West Cary and Thompson streets Saturday afternoon as Starbucks workers from multiple local locations rallied with the community for a practice picket in response to recent store closings and layoffs. The picket was a nonstrike demonstration meant to show solidarity and signal readiness for labor action. 

About 30 people attended the rally, which featured testimonials from Starbucks workers and a march in front of the Starbucks on West Cary Street, one of multiple Richmond-area stores to have unionized since 2022. 

Five Richmond-area stores were the first in Virginia to unionize, and local workers have continued participating in nationwide bargaining efforts since then. 

Workers, their supporters and the Starbucks Workers United (SWU) labor group hope that the picketing and warnings of potential strikes will spur corporate leaders to resume good-faith negotiations. 

“We’re telling the company we’re willing to go on strike like we have before in order to move things along,” said Al Gilstrap, who works at the West Cary Street store. 

The practice picket was one of 35 organized and held in cities across the country, according to SWU, after Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol announced hundreds of store closures and 900 nonretail worker layoffs. Union stores account for 10% of those impacted, according to Gilstrap. 

Starbucks stores on Arthur Ashe Boulevard and Commerce Road as well as locations across Virginia have closed as part of these changes as Starbucks attempts to improve store performance, according to the company. 

“These steps are to reinforce what we see is working and prioritize our resources against them,” Niccol said in a Sept. 25 letter to employees announcing the closures and layoffs. “I know these decisions impact our partners and their families, and we did not make them lightly.” 

While SWU has managed to secure some benefits and protections for affected union baristas, not all affected workers are unionized and able to be supported. 

The closures and layoffs, which mark the latest labor conflict Starbucks has seen since Niccol assumed leadership of the company, follow a suit filed in three states over the new store dress code. 

“We are really close to finishing a contract and since (Niccol’s) involvement, it’s really slowed down,” Gilstrap said. 

Starbucks workers and their supporters believe the outcome of the negotiations is important not only for the stores but also for other industries, showing a way forward for labor rights if successful. 

“Unions aren’t just about your job,” said Strawberry Street store barista and organizer Judith Vought. “It’s about creating a community or an environment where, if something happens … you’re going to have a support system to help you through those hard times.” 

If negotiations stall or fail, workers said they are concerned other companies could also resist unionization, especially as labor protections weaken nationwide. 

Given the stakes, Starbucks workers and their supporters were clear about the need for solidarity and empathy in and outside of work as labor efforts continue. 

“It’s up to us as a union and a community to take care of each other,” Vought said.