After 3 years without a contract, Starbucks workers are turning to civil disobedience

Get the Full StoryThe latest phase of the Starbucks Workers United campaign includes sit-ins at stores, where union members have been arrested. They say the escalation is necessary to call attention to their fight.

Michelle Eisen, a 15-year Starbucks veteran, is a barista for the coffee chain at a location in Buffalo the first Starbucks store to unionize back in December 2021, in fact. But on a Tuesday in March, Eisen was at a Pittsburgh Starbucks, to participate in what Starbucks Workers United members have dubbed sip-ins. A spin on sit-ins, they involve union workers and allies hanging out for hours in a Starbucks store, ordering drinks under names like Union Strong and leaving tips for workers.

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