Intro: Starbucks workers in Chile have been on strike for 20 days. On Friday, March 21, members of the Starbucks Workers Union held their second national assembly, meeting in person in Santiago and Valparaíso, and connecting online with other regions across the country. Their struggle has been a powerful example of how coordinated union action, reaching beyond a single workplace or sector, can challenge precarious labor conditions and. The strike has already had a significant national and international impact.
We spoke with Antonio Páez, president of the Starbucks National Workers Union in Chile, just after this second coordination meeting. Antonio has worked at Starbucks for 15 years as a barista in Viña del Mar, and has been a member of the Revolutionary Workers’ Party (PTR Chile) for nearly two decades. He talked about the current state of the strike, the organizing behind it, and the broader vision of solidarity and resistance driving their movement.
Can you tell us about the strike and what you’re fighting for?
Our strike officially began on March 7, following a democratic process that started on February 22. This process involved numerous assemblies with over 500 workers, where we collectively debated the company’s proposals, rejecting or modifying them democratically. Since March 7, a total of 1,244 workers from more than 176 Starbucks stores across Chile — from Calama to Puerto Montt — have joined the strike. This represents nearly 60 percent of all Starbucks workers in the country.
As a result, the company was forced to close more than 30 stores on the first day of the strike, and at its peak, over 100 stores were shut down in a single day. This strike has dealt a significant financial blow to the company and has marked a historic moment: this is the first time in Starbucks’ history, since its founding in Seattle in 1971, that it has faced a workers’ movement of this scale and determination.
Since the start of the strike, we’ve organized numerous demonstrations outside key Starbucks locations and at Alsea’s headquarters — Alsea being the company that controls Starbucks operations in Chile and throughout Latin America. We’ve also demonstrated at airports, where Starbucks has a heavy presence. Instead of focusing solely on our own struggle, we’ve worked to connect with other sectors of the working class. We want to expand the conversation beyond Starbucks, challenging the broader model of precarious labor in Chile, one of the most neoliberal countries in the world, where both local and transnational corporations believe paying the minimum wage is sufficient.
This is why we’ve emphasized two main slogans: first, that an hour of our work is worth less than a Starbucks coffee — their cheapest drink costs 3,400 pesos or about US$3.50; and second, that we remain below the poverty line even though we work full-time. We find it unacceptable that full-time work still means poverty.
Within our union, nearly 60 percent of our members are women, many of whom are single mothers and caregivers. We also have large numbers of students who have to work to pay for their education, and many migrants, who are especially vulnerable and are often quickly absorbed into these precarious, low-wage jobs.
Can you tell us more about the coordination committees that you’ve been organizing to bring together striking workers, mobilize community support, and vote on next steps?
Last Wednesday, we convened a meeting for organizations that wanted to show solidarity with our cause. Around 300 people attended, which was unprecedented. We connected online with cities like Valparaíso, where construction workers and other unions gathered, and Antofagasta, where mining, retail, health, and teachers’ unions joined. In Santiago, over 150 people came to the CUT headquarters — the main labor federation in Chile — to discuss collective initiatives in support of the strike.
This solidarity is crucial, especially when it comes to the strike fund. When workers go on strike, we’re not paid. Time becomes our biggest enemy, and without salaries, we’re essentially up against hunger. That’s why we’ve called on other unions to contribute to the strike fund, and we were encouraged by their positive response at the assembly.
At that same assembly, we voted to organize two demonstrations. The first was a central march through Santiago’s main avenue, Alameda, which gathered more than 500 people. The march took place despite initial restrictions, allowing us to challenge the repressive police policies typically in force around the government palace. At the rally, various groups expressed their support, including the Coordinating Committee for Palestine — a campaign our union has long supported — along with the March 8 feminist coalition.
Women’s and gender-diverse voices are central to our movement. Starbucks and fast food workplaces are heavily feminized, and that reality is reflected in our union. That’s why we participated in the March 8 feminist coordination meeting and took part in their mobilizations.
On Tuesday, we also marched to Congress with support from the CUT, which even provided a bus for us — another rare gesture of institutional backing. At Congress, we directly challenged the privileges of progressive politicians who earn 20 times the minimum wage. We demanded real, material support for the strike from them. A video message is nice, but we need action — financial contributions to sustain our fight.
We’ve since held a second coordination meeting to continue building on this momentum. The strike has broadened, but more importantly, it represents a different way of organizing within the labor movement. We’re pushing back against the atomization that has long weakened workers’ struggles in Chile. The idea that each union fights only for its own interests has to be challenged. We’ve tried to break this guild mentality and replace it with solidarity, coordination, and collective power.
This coordination must continue even after the strike. We’re also actively involved in campaigns beyond our immediate demands — such as speaking out against the ongoing genocide in Palestine and participating in the upcoming March 30 national mobilization around pensions. The pension reform pushed by Gabriel Boric’s government benefits insurance companies at the expense of workers who will receive inadequate pensions after a lifetime of work. We’re pushing to address this injustice now, so our parents, grandparents, and our own generation don’t grow old in poverty.
What’s the impact of the strike in Chile and abroad?
Employers are watching this conflict closely. They know that if we win through collective struggle, it could inspire bigger fights in other sectors where unions are small or nonexistent. That’s why we’re fighting so tenaciously. And this struggle doesn’t stop at Chile’s borders. Although Starbucks Chile is managed by Mexico’s Alsea, they still take direction from Starbucks in the United States. In fact, when we attended LaborNotes in 2022, Starbucks U.S. demanded that Starbucks Chile restrict our ability to discuss a company-wide collective agreement. This shows how coordinated the company is across borders, and our response must be just as coordinated.
That’s why our fight also sends a message to Starbucks workers in the United States: it is possible to organize, to demand better working conditions, and to build power through assemblies, collective deliberation, and real worker democracy — in such assemblies, union leaders should have the same vote as any other member. It’s proof that change can be won, but it must be fought for collectively and strategically.
We are also challenging the company’s hollow rhetoric around diversity and inclusion. Starbucks promotes a progressive image, but behind the scenes, there are homophobic and transphobic managers, bullying, and abuse. That’s why we created the Women and Queer Workers’ Commission within our union. At this moment, with a global rise in conservatism — particularly in places like the U.S. — we are demanding real change, like the implementation of a trans hiring quota.
March 8 must be more than symbolic. It must be about pushing for concrete policies that support women and gender-diverse workers. For instance, we’ve called for a universal childcare system that is not just for women, but also accessible to men, same-sex couples, adoptive families, or de facto caregivers. We’re working to shift the paradigm around care work and expose the interconnected nature of patriarchy and capitalism — two systems that unions must confront not just in words, but through action.
How can people who are reading this support the strike?
The companies have infinite resources — based on their vast profits that we ourselves have generated. The money Starbucks is using to survive this strike is money that they made from our labor. We don’t have that luxury. We struggle to reach the end of each month and have no way to build up savings. That’s why we are making the broadest possible call, nationally and internationally, to donate to our strike fund.
Left Voice is organizing a crowdfunding campaign in support of our strike. Here in Chile, we’re telling people: instead of buying your coffee at Starbucks, donate the price of that coffee to the strike. So far, the response has been encouraging, but the needs are still massive. Each day of the strike costs us around 10 million pesos — roughly US$10,000. Without that support, it’s hard to keep this important fight alive. So I make a heartfelt appeal to everyone who reads or hears this: please donate to the strike fund via Left Voice, and know that your contribution will go directly to supporting the union and the striking Starbucks workers of Chile.
No comments:
Post a Comment