Thousands of Starbucks Baristas on Strike Over ‘Restrictive’ New Dress Code: ‘Customers Don’t Care What Color Our Clothes Are’

A strike that began on May 12 gained momentum through May 15 as more than 2,000 Starbucks baristas — representing 120 stores nationwide — joined in protesting the company’s new dress code, according to NBC News.

Beginning May 12, Starbucks instituted a new dress code that limited what baristas are allowed to wear beneath their trademark green aprons. Said dress code states that staff who work at company-operated and licensed stores in North America are to wear a solid black shirt and khaki, black, or blue denim bottoms.

That’s a significant change from Starbucks’ former policy, which allowed workers to don a wider array of muted hues or subtly patterned shirts. The company provided a brief bit of reasoning for the change in dress code, per Axios, stating that the new palette provides “simplified color options that allow our iconic green apron to shine.”

“The more defined color palette includes any solid black short and long-sleeved crewneck, collared, or button-up shirts and any shade of khaki, black, or blue denim bottoms. We’re also making a new line of company branded T-shirts available to partners, who will receive two at no cost — including partner network options,” the coffee chain stated in an April 14 press release.

“By updating our dress code, we can deliver a more consistent coffeehouse experience that will also bring simpler and clearer guidance to our partners, which means they can focus on what matters most, crafting great beverages and fostering connections with customers,” the company added.

Starbucks Workers United and Individual Staff Speak Out, Company Replies

Both Starbucks Workers United, a union representing workers at 570 of the chain’s 10,000-plus company-owned U.S. stores, and individual workers spoke out against the change in dress code policy.

Complaints included frustration over being prohibited from wearing previously approved Starbucks-branded clothing, anger at the company’s failure to negotiate the change before enforcing it, and broader criticism of its overall business practices.

NBC News quoted Starbucks shift supervisor Paige Summers on the subject.

“Starbucks has lost its way. Instead of listening to baristas who make the Starbucks experience what it is, they are focused on all the wrong things, like implementing a restrictive new dress code,” Summer said. “Customers don’t care what color our clothes are when they’re waiting 30 minutes for a latte.”

The union took to Bluesky to express its discontent over the current state of affairs, underscoring the fact that workers weren’t simply angry over “a shirt color” but more concerned with the lack of a living wage, guaranteed hours, and understaffing. For its part, Starbucks indicated that the strike had only resulted in minimal impact on store operations, with some locations closing for only an hour or less.

“It would be more productive if the union would put the same effort into coming back to the table that they’re putting into protesting wearing black shirts to work,” Starbucks said in a statement, as NBC News detailed. “More than 99% of our stores are open today serving customers — and have been all week.”

Starbucks Workers United has been in the process of unionizing U.S. stores since 2021, although Starbucks and the union have failed to reach a contract agreement in the intervening years.