October 6, 2025 | My Northwest
Starbucks baristas and local union leaders protested outside the company’s headquarters, located in Seattle’s SoDo neighborhood, on Monday, Axios Seattle reported.
The protest was in response to the recent store closures. According to Starbucks Workers United, the store closures left workers jobless without being transferred to other stores.
Starbucks recently closed 28 stores in Washington, including nine in Seattle. Among the nine stores was the Seattle Reserve Roastery and its SoDo Reserve Store. Approximately 900 employees were laid off alongside the store closures.
“It’s crazy to wake up and learn from social media that you lost your job before your company tells you,” Trent Lytle-Hogue, a barista at the Reserve Roastery for two years, said. “Family was texting asking if I’m OK and I barely knew a thing from the 5-minute prerecorded call. Thankfully, our union were the people who cared, who worked to get us more information, who immediately bargained for better severance. Our rally is, ‘An injury to one is an injury to all!’ So Starbucks better be ready for massive actions, even strikes, if they’re not going to finish the contract.”