If you live in Lakewood or Barstow, you'll have to find somewhere other than Starbucks to get your coffee on Monday, because baristas are holding a one-day strike.
Starbucks employees claim the company is not giving the same benefits to unionized stores, and they're demanding change.
The strike in Lakewood, at the store on Candlewood Street, was already underway at 5:30 a.m. Monday morning.
Employees who typically open the store every morning at 4 a.m. were instead outside the Starbucks, holding signs to inform pedestrians and drivers about their strike.
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They say it's time for the company to make major changes, accusing the coffee chain of unfair labor practices. Those practices include changing store hours and denying certain benefits that the company has implemented at stores that have yet to form a union.
"We don't have to settle for the unfair treatment or the low wages," said Starbucks barista trainer Crystal Villarreal. "We can fight for more, and it's possible."
Employees involved in the strike also report that at the Starbucks in Barstow, management has interefered with workers saying the word "union."
Some customers who came by the Lakewood location to get their morning coffee are backing up the employees.
"These employees are the backbone of the company, they're the ones who make it run on a daily basis. And I feel like if they're not being treated properly on a daily basis, how is the company going to function on a daily basis?" said Kiana Baclig, one of those customers.
Starbucks workers have held more than 55 different strikes in 17 states. Workers at Starbucks in Santa Cruz have also been on strike since Saturday, and will remain on strike through Monday.
Workers in Lakewood and Barstow will be holding a massive rally at noon on Monday.
