By Gursimran Mehar and Bipasha Dey
(Reuters) -A strike at Starbucks (NASDAQ will expand to more than 300 U.S. stores on Tuesday, with more than 5,000 workers expected to walk off the job before the five-day work stoppage ends later in Christmas Eve, the workers union said.
Starbucks Workers United, which represents employees at 525 stores nationwide, said more than 60 U.S. stores in 12 major cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Seattle, were closed Monday.
Talks between Starbucks and the union reached an impasse with unresolved issues over wages, staffing and hours, leading to the strike that began Friday.
With a union contract, improvements in benefits, wages and working conditions could be in writing and cannot be reduced without negotiation, according to Workers United's website.
Tuesday's Christmas Eve strike is expected to be the largest ever at the coffee chain, the union added. “These strikes are an initial show of force and we are just getting started,” one Oregon barista said in a union statement.
When asked for a response, a Starbucks spokesperson referred to a statement the company released on Monday.
It said 97% to 99% of Starbucks stores will continue to operate and serve customers, adding that it expects a “very limited impact” on overall operations. Starbucks has more than 10,000 company-operated stores across the US.
“We are ready to continue negotiations when the union returns to the negotiating table,” the company said.
The Seattle-based company had previously claimed that union stewards ended the bargaining session prematurely.
Earlier this month, the workers' group rejected an offer of no immediate pay increases and a guarantee of a 1.5% pay rise in the coming years.
The union also said Starbucks has yet to present its workers with “a serious economic proposal.”
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