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Union rejects contract offer from big Starbucks distributor

Image: Flickr/Michelle

Union drivers and warehouse workers employed by a key Midwest distributor for Starbucks Coffee Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) have rejected a contract proposal in part because of its short duration, the Teamsters union, which represents the nearly 300 workers, said Aug. 23.

The company, DPI Specialty Foods, offered the workers a seven-month contract, a sharp contrast to the five-year contracts that the workers have received in the past, the Teamsters said. The offer of such short duration is due to DPI’s belief that Starbucks is planning to shift to another delivery company and that DPI doesn’t want to be tied to a multi-year labor deal if that happens, Mike Cales, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 710, which represents the workers, said in a statement Aug. 23. 

The contract was rejected by an overwhelming margin, the Teamsters said, without providing details. DPI and Starbucks were not immediately available for comment.

DPI delivers to more than 900 Starbucks stores in the greater Chicago area, as well as to stores in Minneapolis, St. Louis and Indianapolis, the Teamsters said 


Image: Shutterstock

The local said it would make its presence known during the first week of September, when Chicago hosts the 2019 Starbucks Leadership Conference, which is expected to be attended by an estimated 13,000 store managers and other company leaders.

Mark Solomon

Formerly the Executive Editor at DC Velocity, Mark Solomon joined FreightWaves as Managing Editor of Freight Markets. Solomon began his journalistic career in 1982 at Traffic World magazine, ran his own public relations firm (Media Based Solutions) from 1994 to 2008, and has been at DC Velocity since then. Over the course of his career, Solomon has covered nearly the whole gamut of the transportation and logistics industry, including trucking, railroads, maritime, 3PLs, and regulatory issues. Solomon witnessed and narrated the rise of Amazon and XPO Logistics and the shift of the U.S. Postal Service from a mail-focused service to parcel, as well as the exponential, e-commerce-driven growth of warehouse square footage and omnichannel fulfillment.