In a reversal, Starbucks proposes restarting union talks and reaching contract agreements in 2024

By DEE-ANN DURBIN
AP Business Writer

Starbucks says it’s committed to bargaining with its unionized workers and reaching labor agreements next year. The move Friday is major reversal for the coffee chain after two years fighting the unionization of its U.S. stores. Starbucks Chief Partner Officer Sara Kelly wrote a letter to Lynne Fox, the president of the Workers United union. In it, Kelly says the current bargaining impasse between the two sides should not be acceptable to either. Fox says she is reviewing the letter and anything that moves bargaining forward is positive. At least 370 U.S. Starbucks stores have voted to unionize since late 2021.