Atlanta, GA
Some Metro Atlanta Starbucks employees go on strike amid the holidays
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – You may experience order delays if you are headed to a Starbucks on Christmas Eve. Some workers in Metro Atlanta are on strike.
Representatives with Starbucks Workers United tell Atlanta News First they feel underpaid and understaffed and are protesting the lack of progress in contract negotiation with the company.
Starbucks union workers in Alpharetta are making their voices heard loud and clear. They allege unfair labor practices.
“When Starbucks workers first started to unionize, they gave non-union workers pay raises and the partners that were unionized didn’t get that until later and so they’re owed back pay,” said Danielle Stolton, Shift supervisor at the Alpharetta store.
Stolton said she has been a part of the bargaining process.
“Personally, last year was the worst year,” she said. “I had a mental breakdown, actually.”
Stolton and others planned this one-day strike to stand in solidarity with over 5,000 workers at more than 300 stores that are protesting.
Strikes have been going on in some places since last Friday. Some baristas said they want better pay and better benefits.
“I know baristas in my store personally who are having to choose between gas or groceries so when you see problems like that it’s really hard to not feel some type of way about the fact that Starbucks made 24 billion dollars in profit this year, two percent more than last year and we’re still seeing two percent pay raises,” said Vivek G, a Starbucks employee.
Starbucks Workers United said the company failed to honor a commitment made in February.
In a statement to Atlanta News First, Starbucks said:
“Only around 170 Starbucks stores did not open as planned. With over 10,000 company-operated stores, 98% of our stores and nearly 200,000 green apron partners continuing to operate and serve customers during the holidays,” the coffeechain added.
Some workers feel differently.
“It’s just basic living wages and also again to reiterate is just to have. We’re asking for minimum staffing and realistic expectations and just the ability to run our floors and run our stores in a way that makes the most sense. They say they want to hear us, they say they want to listen but every time we ask for help, we get told no,” Stolton said.
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On a sad day overall for Braves Country, due to the passing of the legendary Bobby Cox, Spencer Strider gave Atlanta fans something to be happy and hopeful about with a stellar outing, shutting down the Dodgers potent offense for 6.0 innings with 8 strikeouts and 15 whiffs. He looked as good as he has in a long time. His fastball averaged 96.4 MPH, with 17 inches of induced vertical break and he had four pitches working nicely together. Even if Strider doesn’t quite return to his Jacob deGrom levels of dominance, having him as a true #1 or #2 quality starter would make a huge difference for this Braves team to pair with Chris Sale. Bryce Elder has been great this season, but shouldn’t be the second best starter in the rotation of a World Series contender. If Strider can keep something like Saturday night’s version of himself moving forward, that’s a huge development for him and this team.
The highly anticipated NBA Draft is finally going to take place tomorrow and the Atlanta Hawks are 1 of 14 teams hoping the ping pong balls bounce their way.
This is going to be the final payoff for what was arguably the best move that any team made last offseason. Atlanta traded down from the No. 13 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and acquired the unprotected 2026 first-round pick from the New Orleans Pelicans, the most favorable of the Pelicans’ and Bucks’ selections. The Pelicans finished 7th in the lottery odds, and Milwaukee is 10th. Based on the odds, the Hawks have a 40% chance of jumping into the top four.
The last time the Hawks were in the lottery, they jumped from 10th to 1st and selected Zaccharie Risacher. While that was a huge stroke of luck, it has not always worked out that way for the Hawks.
Hawks lottery history
The Hawks have been in the NBA Lottery 16 times since 1985 and in that time span, the Hawks have:
- Moved up five times (2024-moved from 10th to 1st, 2018-moved from 4th to 3rd, 2007- moved from 4th to 3rd, 2001- moved from 5th to 3rd, and 1985- moved from 7th to 5th)
- Moved down five times (2020- moved from 4th to 6th, 2019- moved from 5th to 8th, 2006- moved from 4th to 5th, 2005- moved from 1st to 2nd, and 2000- moved from 5th to 6th)
- Stayed where they were projected to six times
Their biggest move up by far came in 2024 when the moved up to No. 1 and were able to select Risacher, which has not quite panned out.
There is an element of what if to each of these scenarios, especially the years the Hawks moved down. In 2020, they moved down in a draft that contained Anthony Edwards, who is from the state of Georgia and one of the elite players that the league has right now. Atlanta ended up selecting Onyeka Okongwu, but there is a big what if about being able to pair Edwards with Trae Young.
In 2019, the Hawks were 5th in the highly anticipated 2019 lottery that featured Zion Williamson, but they fell three spots. While WIlliamson has not had quite the career most had hoped, he is still an All-NBA caliber player and would have paired nicely with Young as a tandem.
There have been some hits and misses during the 16 times that the Hawks have been in the lottery, but there have seemingly been more missed opportunities, even when they jump up in the standings. They are hoping that they get another stroke of luck tomorrow in what could be a franchise altering day for the Hawks.
Final projected odds for the Hawks:
No. 1- 9.8% chance
No. 2- 9.9% chance
No. 3- 10.1% chance
No. 4- 10.30% chance
No. 7- 19.75% chance
No. 8- 30.18% chance
No. 9- 9.19% chance
No. 10- 0.67% chance
No. 11-
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The Georgia Department of Transportation announced that a major weekend construction project, set to fully shut down two miles of I-285, has been postponed due to inclement weather. Atlantans are relieved, with many looking forward to more freedom to travel this Mothers’ Day weekend. Kim Leoffler has the story.
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