Starbucks Workers United keeps pressure on with Evanston picket line

The picket line at 1901 Dempster Street showed that Starbucks Workers United is still capable of putting store-level pressure on Starbucks, even when the broader bargaining story has moved off the front page. The June 1 action in Evanston ran from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. CDT and called on allies to join striking baristas, a reminder that the fight is still being organized block by block, not just in conference rooms.

For partners inside the store, that matters because the union is using local actions to keep a stubborn dispute visible to customers and management alike. Starbucks Workers United says its open-ended strike began on November 13, 2025, after six months of what it described as Starbucks refusing to offer new proposals on staffing, higher pay and the resolution of unfair labor practice charges. The union has said more than 700 unfair labor practice charges remain unresolved, and it has framed the strike as a response to ongoing retaliation and bad-faith bargaining.

The Evanston store has become a useful example of how that pressure lingers. The Dempster Street location closed after the November strike and reopened on January 20, 2026. The Evanstonian reported that the reopened store came back with new workers and managers, while some employees crossed the picket line. That kind of turnover can reset a store’s day-to-day rhythm, but it does not erase the conflict. A picket outside the door still shapes how customers approach the café, how baristas talk to each other, and how supervisors manage a shift when labor tensions are already high.

The June 1 picket also fits into a larger bargaining picture. In March, Starbucks Workers United said it had sent Starbucks a comprehensive proposed contract that called for a $17-an-hour wage floor, 4% annual raises and at least three workers on the floor at all times. Starbucks said it wanted to resume in-person bargaining as soon as March 30. For workers, the gap between those positions is the story: the union is pushing staffing and pay into the open, while the company is still trying to bring talks back to the table.

That pressure is backed by a long paper trail. Starbucks Workers United has said National Labor Relations Board administrative law judges have found more than 400 Starbucks labor law violations overall, with more than 140 later upheld by the board in cases it ruled on. The union also pointed to more than 60 violations tied to the Buffalo-area organizing campaign in December 2024. In Evanston, the picket line showed those numbers are not just legal filings. They are still being translated into public confrontation at a single store, where labor conflict remains part of the job.