Reaching an Agreement with Workers United for Impacted Partners
Immediately following changes to our North America portfolio, we reached out to Worker’s United to work on a framework for how these updates would affect represented partners in coffeehouses we made the decision to close.
Given the industry-leading offer provided to impacted partners — including reassignment opportunities, where possible, and generous severance — we were able to quickly reach an agreement with Workers United to similarly help represented partners through this transition. This reflects our commitment to partner care.
The agreement is consistent with options provided to non-represented partners, which include:
- The offer of reassignment to nearby locations, where possible, based on business need and partner availability.
- Where reassignment isn’t available, represented partners will receive the same severance package as non-represented partners, including:
- Pay for scheduled shifts through October 5.
- If enrolled in benefits:
- Three months of fully covered COBRA premiums.
- Access to Lyra mental health support for 18 months.
- Access to Starbucks College Achievement Plan through the December term.
- A commitment to full compliance with Fair Workweek laws and WARN Act requirements, where applicable.
- Eligibility for rehire for partners who were not reassigned.
Our agreement with the union provides two minor adjustments for represented partners:
- For a small number of represented partners with disputed final written warnings, we’ve agreed to a good-faith review to ensure reassignment is fairly assessed.
- Represented partners with a reassignment option will be notified this week and must communicate whether they accept their assignment by October 3. Those who do not accept their assignments will be provided severance.
These decisions affect our partners and their families — we take that seriously.