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In a new holiday ad for Starbucks, set to the tune of Im Gonna Be (500 Miles) by The Proclaimers, two adorable animated figures traipse across Starbuckss red holiday cups to reunite. Its a sweet video that highlights Starbuckss transition into the winter holidays, one of the biggest sales moments of the year for the company. But while the iconic red cups are starring in Starbuckss early holiday promotion, theyve also become the center of an ongoing dispute with Starbucks Workers Unitedand a potential strike. On November 6, Starbucks released its holiday menu in stores, including seasonal beverages, treats, and cups. The rollout heralds the arrival of Red Cup Day on November 13, an annual event when Starbucks offers free reusable cups to any customer who makes a holiday beverage purchase. Last year, an internal memo from Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol, obtained by The Wall Street Journal, showed that Red Cup Day 2024 was the companys best U.S. sales day of all time. Meanwhile, on November 5, Workers United overwhelmingly voted to authorize a proposed strike, starting on November 13, if Starbucks fails to finalize a fair contract with the union by then. Union baristas are prepared to turn Starbucks Red Cup Day into the Red Cup Rebellion, a press release from the union reads. Today, its been nearly four years since Starbucks workers organized their first store, with no contract agreement in sightand, as the holidays roll around, its becoming clear that while the red cup symbolizes a huge financial win for Starbucks, its become a symbol of frustration for the union. Whats happened between Starbucks and its union? Starbucks and its union have been embroiled in a dispute over the companys contracts since 2021. In the broadest of terms, the union is looking to secure better wages, benefits, and guaranteed hours for its employees. Starbucks, meanwhile, claims that it already offers the best overall wage and benefits package in retail. In April 2025, the union rejected a contract proposal from Starbucks, which it says failed to improve wages or benefits in the first year of the contract and didnt put forth proposals to address chronic understaffing. Since then, negotiations between the two parties have broken down. Now, per a press release, Workers United says that union workers are prepared to strike in more than 25 cities as an “opening salvo, if Starbucks does not offer new contract proposals which address workers demands for better staffing, higher pay, and a resolution of unfair labor practice charges. Jaci Anderson, Starbuckss director of global communications, says that the union represents a small percent of Starbuckss workforce, including 550 stores in total. Starbucks customers, she adds, should feel assured that the vast majority of the companys more than 10,000 company operated and 7,000 licensed locations in the U.S. will be open on November 13, regardless of the unions plans. We are disappointed that Workers United, who only represents around 4% of our partners, has voted to authorize a strike instead of returning to the bargaining table, she says. When theyre ready to come back, were ready to talk. In a letter published on Starbucks’s website on November 5 in response to Workers Uniteds strike authorization, chief partner officer Sara Kelly wrote, Starbucks offers the best overall wage and benefits package in retail, worth on average $30 per hour for hourly partners, going on to add, Workers United proposes pay increases of 65% immediately and 77% over three years with additional payments on top of this for almost every aspect of the job, including for working within three hours of opening or closing, for working on the weekend, for receiving inventory, or on a day when Starbucks runs a promotion. A Workers United spokesperson told Fast Company that Kellys letter intentionally obfuscated the union baristas goals. They pointed out that the $30 an hour figure includes both wages and benefits togetherwhile, in 33 states, the starting wage for a barista is $15.25. Further, they added, the proposals that she attributes to the union are outdated and were never offered as a package deal, but rather as a variety of options available on the bargaining table. Our fight is about actually making Starbucks jobs the best jobs in retail, Jasmine Leli, a three-year Starbucks barista and strike captain, said in the Workers United press release. Right now, its only the best job in retail for Brian Niccol. Red Cup Rebellion 2.0 If the strike proceeds as planned, it wont be the first Red Cup Rebellion in Starbucks history. Back in 2023, union baristas held a similar protest at more than 200 stores, which, at the time, was the largest strike in the unions history. At the time, the union explained that, due to its popularity, Red Cup Day is one of the hardest days for Starbucks workers, due to an explosion in foot traffic and chronic understaffing. For this Red Cup Rebellion, a Workers United spokesperson told Fast Company, union workers are prepared to make a potential strike bigger and longer than any strikes in years past. As the dispute between Starbucks and Workers United continues with no clear end in sight, the red holiday cup has become the ultimate symbol of how the company’s corporate goals clash with union barista’s demands.
Category:
E-Commerce
Senate Republicans are moving to try to end the government shutdown by preparing a new bipartisan package of spending bills and daring Democrats to vote for it, but it was unclear if their plan would work.Many Democrats said they would continue to hold out for an extension of expiring health care subsidies, which was not expected to be part of the legislation.Senate Democrats, who have now voted 14 times not to reopen the government, left their second caucus meeting of the week Thursday with few answers about whether they eventually could find a compromise with Republicans or even with each other on how to end the shutdown.A test vote on the new package, which had not yet been publicly revealed, could come as soon as Friday. Democrats will then have a crucial choice to make: Do they keep fighting for a meaningful deal on extending health care subsidies that expire in January, while extending the pain of the shutdown? Or do they vote to reopen the government and hope for the best as Republicans promise an eventual health care vote, but not a guaranteed outcome?Emboldened by overwhelmingly favorable elections earlier this week, many Democrats say the fight isn’t over until Republicans and President Donald Trump negotiate with them on an extension.“That’s what leaders do,” said Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico. “You have the gavel, you have the majority, you have to bring people together.”Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz said Democrats are “obviously not unanimous” but they are unified that “without something on health care, the vote is very unlikely to succeed.”Other Democrats have been working on a deal that would reopen the government with only an agreement for a future vote on the health care subsidies. Lawmakers in both parties were feeling increased urgency to alleviate the growing crisis at airports, pay government workers and restore delayed food aid to millions of people now that the shutdown has become the longest in U.S. history.Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s decision to keep the Senate in session Friday, and perhaps over the weekend, came after Trump urged Senate Republicans at a White House breakfast Wednesday to end the shutdown. Trump said he thought the six-week impasse was a “big factor, negative” for Republicans in Tuesday’s elections. A new effort to reopen the government The bipartisan package Thune is proposing would fund parts of government food aid, veterans programs and the legislative branch, among other things and extend funding for everything else until December or January.The new package would replace the House-passed bill that the Democrats have repeatedly rejected. That legislation would only extend government funding until Nov. 21, a date that is rapidly approaching after six weeks of inaction.The details were still to be worked out, but the new legislation mirrors a tentative plan that moderate Democrats have been sketching out in hopes of finding agreement. The proposal led by New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen would also take up Republicans on their offer to hold a vote on extending the expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies at a later date.It was still unclear what Thune, who has refused to negotiate while the government is closed, would promise on health care and if enough Democrats would agree to move ahead. Republicans have for weeks been five votes short of the 60 they need. Johnson delivers setback to bipartisan talks Democrats are facing pressure from unions eager for the shutdown to end and from allied groups that want them to hold firm. Many Democrats have argued that the results for Democrats in Tuesday’s election show voters want them to continue the fight until Republicans yield and agree to extend the health tax credits.A vote on the health care subsidies “has got to mean something,” Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, said this week. “That means a commitment by the speaker of the House, that he will support the legislation, that the president will sign.”But Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., made clear Thursday morning he won’t make any commitment to Democrats. “I’m not promising anybody anything,” Johnson said when asked if he could promise a vote on a health care bill.Johnson’s clear refusal was a setback for negotiators. Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, one of the moderate Democrats involved in negotiations, said the speaker’s comments were “a significant problem.”“We have to make sure we have a deal that we can get broad support for,” Peters said.Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has not yet weighed in on the latest push. He has repeatedly called for Trump to sit down with Democrats a meeting that seems unlikely to happen.“Donald Trump clearly is feeling pressure to bring this shutdown to an end,” Schumer said Thursday. Closed-door negotiations become public A group of Democrats and Republicans that has been quietly negotiating for weeks insisted they were making steady progress on a deal.In a new development Thursday, Republicans suggested they might be open to including language in a final agreement that would reverse some mass firings of government workers by the White House, according to two people familiar with the private talks granted anonymity to discuss them. But it was unclear if that proposal would be included in the new package of bills.Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins, a moderate Republican who has been talking to Democrats, says she wants furloughed workers to be given back pay and workers who have been fired during the shutdown to be “recalled.”“We’re still negotiating that language,” she said. Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti, Kevin Freking and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report. Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
Ice cream maker Dreyers Grand Ice Cream Company has issued a voluntary recall of select Häagen-Dazs Chocolate Dark Chocolate Mini Bars after discovering they might have wheat in them. An investigation is underway, but Dreyers believes that food with wheat was put in the wrong packaging at the start of a production run, according to its announcement, published by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). There are no related illnesses or injuries as of Dreyers announcement on Monday, November 3. As Dreyers states, Those with an allergy or severe sensitivity to wheat run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products. According to the Cleveland Clinic, between 0.2% and 1.3% of individuals live with a wheat allergy worldwide. Which products are affected? The recall only affects a specific batch of Dreyers Häagen-Dazs Chocolate Dark Chocolate Mini Bars. Impacted products are in a six-count package with the following batch code and best by date: LLA519501: Best by January 31, 2027 This information should be visible on the side of the packaging, but an image of the product is available on the FDAs website. Where and when was the product sold? Dreyers didnt provide an exact timeframe for when it shipped the affected ice cream bars. However, it did state that the recalled Häagen-Dazs Chocolate Dark Chocolate Mini Bars were distributed to two retailers, Kroger and Giant Eagle. Below are the states where shipments were sent. Kroger: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Georgia Idaho Illinois Indiana Kansas Kentucky Michigan Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Mexico Ohio Oregon South Carolina Tennessee Utah Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Giant Eagle: Indiana Maryland Ohio Pennsylvania West Virginia These two grocers are the only ones with recalled ice cream bars, with no other batches or Häagen-Dazs products affected. What should I do if I have this product? If youre not allergic to wheat, then its up to you whether to eat the Häagen-Dazs Chocolate Dark Chocolate Mini Bars. According to Dreyer’s, Consumers with a wheat allergy or sensitivity who have purchased the affected product are urged not to consume the product and instead dispose of it or return it to their place of purchase for a full refund.
Category:
E-Commerce
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