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- Pogba hungry to have his football cake after doping ban
- India and Canada expel top envoys in Sikh separatist killing row
- Mbappe says victim of 'fake news' after 'rape' report in Sweden
- Lebanon says 21 killed in strike on northern village
- Netanyahu vows no mercy after deadly Hezbollah drone strike
- Russia could be able to attack NATO by 2030: German intelligence
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- Clarke backs Scotland to bounce back from 'tough' run
- Harris, Trump target crucial Pennsylvania as US vote looms
- NASA probe Europa Clipper lifts off for Jupiter's icy moon
- Lebanese Red Cross says 18 killed in strike in north
- Mendy borrowed money from Man City team-mates for legal fees
- Palestinian officials say Israeli forces kill two in West Bank
- Football leagues, unions file EU complaint against FIFA in calendar dispute
- Nigeria boycott AFCON qualifier in Libya after 'inhumane treatment'
- India to recall top envoy to Canada: foreign ministry
- Hezbollah, Israeli troops in 'violent clashes' after drone strike
- China insists won't renounce 'use of force' to take Taiwan as drills end
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- Russia jails French researcher for three years
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- New Zealand 4-0 up in America's Cup but British show signs of life
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- 'Innocent' British nerve agent victim caught in global murder plot: inquiry
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- England ready for Pakistan's spin assault in second Test
- New Zealand's Ravindra excited for India Tests with father in crowd
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- Stocks diverge, oil retreats as China disappoints markets
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- England captain Stokes back from injury for second Pakistan Test
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- Shanghai stocks gain after stimulus briefing as Asian markets rally
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- Pakistan 'vigilantes' behind rise in online blasphemy cases
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- Smith experiment as Test opener over, Green out of India series
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- Is life possible on a Jupiter moon? NASA goes to investigate
Big Starbucks promotion roiled by union walkout of 'thousands'
Worker activists at Starbucks called for a strike at unionized coffee shops in the United States on Thursday as the labor group seeks to pressure the coffee giant on stalled contract talks.
The employee walkout, dubbed "Red Cup Rebellion," was timed with a holiday-oriented company promotion that the labor group says is representative of company initiatives marred by understaffing and employee stress.
About 360 Starbucks locations with more than 9,000 employees have voted to unionize in the United States, where the company has more than 10,000 company-owned stores.
The union, Starbucks Workers United, said the stoppage involved "thousands" of Starbucks Baristas at "hundreds" of stores in "more than 200 cities across the nation."
A Starbucks spokesman said the action involves "fewer than a hundred stores where some partners have chosen to participate in protest activities," the majority of which were "open and serving customers."
Neha Cremin, who works for Starbucks in Oklahoma City, joined the walkout to protest promotional events for which the company is not adequately staffed.
"Starbucks is creating unnecessarily stressful working conditions by scheduling promotion after promotion without increasing staffing," Cremin said in the union's press release.
"Understaffing hurts workers and also creates an unpleasant experience for customers. Starbucks has made it clear that they won't listen to workers, so we're advocating for ourselves by going on strike."
The union has also accused the company of conducting a "coordinated, scorched-earth campaign " to "illegally frustrate and stall bargaining" on contracts at the fraction of stores that have voted to unionize.
Starbucks defended its staffing practices, saying store schedules are created three weeks in advance to allow for worker input and preference.
The company also expressed its willingness to negotiate a contract, accusing the union of not agreeing to meet for "more than four months."
O.Norris--AMWN