Starbucks
Coffee · 40,990+ locations · US, Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, UK + 80 more countries
Starbucks is the world's largest coffee chain, with over 40,000 stores. But after a 131-day strike, its unionized workers still have no first contract, and NYC hit it with a record $38.9M settlement over its scheduling practices.
The Big Picture
NLRB judges have found labor law violations in most of the 100+ Starbucks decisions issued since 2021, and after a 131-day strike — the longest in company history — 12,000+ unionized workers still have no first contract. In December 2025 Starbucks paid NYC's largest-ever worker-protection settlement ($38.9 million covering 500,000+ alleged scheduling violations), and its "100% ethical sourcing" claim is now the subject of a deceptive-marketing lawsuit a DC court has allowed to proceed. Starbucks answers to public shareholders across more than 40,000 stores — the workers and farmers in its system have the documented cases to show where that leaves them.
The Dirty Details
What do these scores mean? Learn more.
Make a New Choice
Company data last updated August 2026
How does one person build and research all this? They don't: here's how it actually works. Verdicts are our opinions, based on the public sources cited above as of August 2026. Spotted something off? or learn more.