Strikes at some organized U.S. Starbucks stores began Friday in Seattle, Washington, with more than 150 stores and 3,500 workers planning to participate in the strikes this coming week over the company's "hypocritical treatment of LGBTQIA+ workers."
More than two dozen additional stores are voting on strike authorizations and the count could rise to nearly 200 by the end of this week, the Starbucks Workers United union said.
The union said Friday that strikers would be "demanding that Starbucks negotiate a fair contract with union stores and stop their illegal union-busting campaign, which has significantly impacted Starbucks' LGBTQIA+ workforce."
In a lengthy thread on Twitter, the union alleged that Starbucks uses "intimidation tactics" to "threaten" queer and transgender workers by cutting hours, removing credit card tipping and threatening workers with the loss of healthcare benefits.
"We’re fighting for all baristas to feel welcome & safe at work," the union tweeted on Friday. "All cafés should have gender-neutral bathrooms, a safe work environment with adequate protections against burns, slips & falls, and a way of effectively addressing any security issues."
The organization alleged that many workers are not given a guaranteed 20 hours of work weekly, which is the minimum required for access to healthcare, and accused the coffee giant of tokenizing queer and transgender employees for positive PR.
Starbucks Corporation called the allegations "false" in a news release last week, re-pledging its commitment to the LGBTQ community and adding that the company was "deeply concerned" by the accusations.
"We want to be crystal clear – Starbucks has been and will continue to be at the forefront of supporting the LGBTQIA2+ community, and we will not waver in that commitment!" Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan and Executive Vice President and President for North America Sara Trilling said in a joint statement Friday.
"Despite today’s public commentary, there has been no change to any of our policies as it relates to our inclusive store environments, our company culture and the benefits we offer our partners. We continue to encourage our store leaders to celebrate with their communities including for U.S. Pride month in June, as we always have," Trilling continued.
The growing protests stemmed from a Twitter post on June 13 where the union announced the company's alleged ban on Pride decorations, writing, "BREAKING: In the middle of Pride Month, Starbucks BANS Pride decorations in stores across the United States."
The announcement was followed by a lengthy Twitter thread detailing the situation: "For the last two weeks, Starbucks workers have taken to social media to report that the company is no longer allowing Pride decorations in-store. This seems to be the first year the publicly ‘pro-LGBTQ+’ company has taken this kind of stance."
A subsequent post cited conservative backlash against pro-LGBTQ Target products as part of the motivation for the decision, stating, "Taking a cue from Target, who bowed to anti-LGBTQ+ pressure and removed pride merchandise, corporate and district management are taking down the pride decorations that have become an annual tradition in stores."
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The union then blasted the company’s management by claiming leadership has "failed to materially support the LGBTQ+ community" despite being "powered by many queer workers."
"Last October, some workers have reported that their transgender benefit plan changed, causing them to pay out-of-pocket fees and lose access to certain providers," the tweet read.
It also claimed: "If Starbucks was a true ally, they would stand up for us, especially during a time when LGBTQ+ people are under attack. A company that cares wouldn’t turn their back on the LGBTQ+ community to protect their already astronomically high profits."
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The union concluded its thread by saying, "True allyship with the LGBTQ+ community is negotiating a union contract that legally locks-in our benefits, our freedom of expression, and ways to hold management accountable."
Fox News' Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.
