Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ:SBUX) workers have expanded their strike to additional U.S. cities amid stalled wage negotiations during the crucial holiday shopping period, potentially affecting the coffee chain's Christmas sales, according to Workers United union.
What Happened: The five-day strike, which began Friday, has spread from initial locations in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Seattle to include stores in New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, and St. Louis, the union said in a statement Saturday. Workers in Columbus, Ohio, Denver, and Pittsburgh are also participating in the walkout, reported Reuters.
At the heart of the dispute is Workers United's proposal for substantial wage increases, including an immediate 64% rise in minimum hourly wages and a 77% increase over a three-year contract period. Starbucks has called these demands "unsustainable" and maintains that the strike has not significantly impacted its operations, noting that only a small fraction of its more than 11,000 U.S. locations are affected.
Why It Matters: The strike comes at a critical time for Starbucks, which employs approximately 200,000 workers across its U.S. operations. While negotiations between the company and the union began in April, with over eight bargaining sessions leading to 30 agreements, key issues regarding wages, staffing, and schedules remain unresolved.
Workers United has warned that the strike could expand to "hundreds of stores" by Christmas Eve, potentially disrupting one of the busiest retail periods of the year.
Despite these labor challenges, Wall Street maintains a generally positive outlook on the company. Wells Fargo analyst Zachary Fadem, who holds an 86% accuracy rating according to Benzinga, recently maintained an Overweight rating on Starbucks with a price target of $115, suggesting over 12% upside potential.
The current consensus price target among 28 analysts covering Starbucks stands at $103.85, with estimates ranging from Jefferies' low of $76 to Evercore ISI Group's high of $120.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
星巴克CORP（納斯達克：SBUX）的工人已將罷工擴大到美國更多城市，原因是在關鍵的假日購物期間工資談判停滯不前，這可能會影響這家咖啡連鎖店的聖誕銷售，工會Workers United表示。
發生了什麼：工會在週六的聲明中表示，這場持續五天的罷工於週五開始，已從最初的洛杉磯、芝加哥和西雅圖擴展到新澤西、紐約、費城和聖路易斯的商店。俄亥俄州哥倫布、丹佛和匹茲堡的工人也參與了這次罷工，路透社報道稱。
爭議的核心是Workers United提出的大幅加薪提案，包括立即將最低時薪提高64%以及在三年合同期內增加77%。星巴克稱這些要求「不可持續」，並堅持認爲罷工並未對其運營產生顯著影響，指出受影響的僅佔其在美國超過11,000個地點中的小部分。
爲什麼這很重要：罷工在星巴克的一個關鍵時刻發生，該公司在美國僱傭了約200,000名工人。儘管公司與工會的談判始於四月，經過八場出色的談判會議達成了30項協議，但關於工資、人員配置和排班的關鍵問題仍未解決。
Workers United警告稱，罷工可能在平安夜擴大到「數百家商店」，可能會打亂一年中最繁忙的零售時段之一。
儘管面臨這些勞工挑戰，華爾街對公司的整體前景仍持積極態度。根據Benzinga，威爾斯法戈分析師扎卡里·法德姆的準確率爲86%，他最近對星巴克維持了增持評級，目標價爲115美元，暗示超過12%的上行潛力。
目前有28位分析師覆蓋星巴克的共識目標價爲103.85美元，估計範圍從傑富瑞最低的76美元到Evercore ISI Group的最高120美元。
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