The high temperature was just 18 degrees and breezy in Iowa City on Dec. 19.
But Abigail Scheppmann and a coworker were standing outside the closed Starbucks store for hours anyway, waving their STRIKE signs at passersby and walking around to keep warm.
“This is probably the most I’ve been outside in the cold in my life,” Scheppmann told me when I stopped by. “I’ve gotta handle it in order to be out here on strike … I’m here to prove to Starbucks that we will fight for our contract no matter what.”
|
Abigail Scheppmann, a barista at the Starbucks in Iowa City and an organizing committee member for her store’s Starbucks Workers United union, poses for a photo while picketing outside the store Dec. 19, 2025. (Amie Rivers/Iowa Starting Line)
|
For the past three years, Scheppmann has been working for the downtown Iowa City Starbucks. And for the past month, she and her coworkers have been on an unfair labor practice strike—even succeeding in shutting down the store.
“When I started at Starbucks, there was more of a willingness on the company’s part to talk to workers and take our ideas into account,” she said. “Recently, Starbucks has not been receptive to baristas’ concerns at all, especially when it comes to pay or guaranteed hours, or the amount of mobile orders we can handle at a time.”
It’s all part of a nationwide Starbucks escalating strike, which the Starbucks Workers United union began in November. Iowa City and Des Moines workers joined on Dec. 4.
|
Still image from a video of Des Moines Starbucks workers striking at the Des Moines Starbucks in December 2025. (Avery Staker/Iowa Starting Line)
|
Scheppmann says the company has tentatively agreed to “a lot” of a first contract, but workers have been waiting on better wages, staffing, guaranteed hours, and a resolution to hundreds of outstanding unfair labor practices they say the company has committed.
She says it’s about time workers like her were treated better.
“There is this idea that service work doesn’t need a union, or service workers should intentionally be underpaid, and that’s not true,” she said. “We are all very vital to our economy, and it’s time that the businesses and bosses take that seriously.”
But she said the response from the community has been “really great.” Politicians like Josh Turek, running for US Senate, and state Rep. Adam Zabner have both stopped by, as have staffers from Zach Wahls‘ US Senate campaign.
Workers at both the Iowa City and Des Moines locations continue to picket daily, and invite the community to join them—or, at the very least, not buy Starbucks until workers get a contract.
“We’re not just fighting for Starbucks Workers United, we are fighting for all Starbucks workers, and all fast food workers,” Scheppmann said.
Share your thoughts.
|
Watch the latest edition of Clocked In on:
|
|
|
|
|
Amie Rivers
Newsletter Editor, Iowa Starting Line
Member, COURIER United (WGA East)
|
|
|
|
-
‘Affordability’ key for Iowa Dems: Iowa House Democrats say they will focus on affordability in the upcoming legislative session, with plans for lowering property taxes, helping young Iowans buy their first homes, raising the minimum wage, and supporting the state’s workers. The 2026 legislative session starts Jan. 12; what are you hoping our state’s leaders address?
-
Young Iowans aren’t optimistic about jobs: That’s according to a recent survey by Careerminds, which ranked Iowa as one of the least hopeful states for career advancement. Not a good thing when student loan payments are coming due. Oh, and we’re also one of the top states people are fleeing from. “We’re losing our next generation of Iowa workers to other states because Iowa isn’t delivering the good jobs and opportunities,” Rob Sand, running for Iowa’s governor, said of the news.
- At least we have affordable housing, though.
-
United Nurses of Iowa declares victory: Though the company is still fighting them over disputed ballots after the December union election, UnityPoint nurses at four Des Moines hospitals, organized with Teamsters Local 90, remain confident they’ll win. “This is an accomplishment of massive proportions,” United Nurses of Iowa said in a release. “This election sets a record for the most money spent by a hospital on a union busting campaign and represents the single largest private sector union election in the state of Iowa.”
- Airport eatery company accused of wage theft: A Linn County woman filed what could become a class action lawsuit against a company that operates food and beverage concessions inside Iowa airports, saying they’re failing to pay minimum wage to tipped employees.
-
Labor unions say no to war with Venezuela: “We join the international labor community in condemning President Trump’s unconstitutional actions in Venezuela,” the AFL-CIO said Jan. 3, just after news broke that Venezuela’s president and his wife were kidnapped by US forces in an overnight raid while dozens of civilians were killed in US-led bombings.
- Trump abruptly froze federal child care funding: Here’s how that will affect child care workers and families.
-
Are robots the future of farming? John Deere says yes, but others think it’s just an excuse to get rid of farm labor entirely.
-
Big union contract fights coming in 2026 include AT&T landline and fiber workers in the Midwest, UAW members at Case New Holland in Iowa, Bridgestone in Des Moines, Veterans Affairs nurses, letter carriers, Major League Baseball, and more; Labor Notes has the rundown here.
-
Standard Forwarding Freight says it had “suspended” operations as of Dec. 29, though Teamsters, the union covering workers at terminals in Iowa and other Midwest states, says it had closed entirely. There was no WARN Act notice given.
-
Voting on a union: Forty full- and part-time drivers and monitors at Durham School Services in Urbandale voted on whether to unionize with Teamsters Local 90 last month; no vote total was posted to the NLRB website as of this writing.
|
|
|
-
Wells Fargo in West Des Moines is laying off 14 workers by Jan. 23, and 25 by Feb. 6.
- 10 Roads Express/10 Roads Service in Carter Lake is closing and laying off 42 workers by Jan. 30.
-
DRT in Carter Lake is closing and laying off 26 workers by Jan. 30.
- CRST Expedited in Cedar Rapids is laying off 30 workers by Feb. 1.
-
Medtec/CQ Medical in Orange City is closing and laying off 33 workers by Feb. 6.
|
|
|
Would you pass this newsletter along to your fellow workers?
|
|
|
Do you want to support Iowa Starting Line’s mission while showcasing your products or services to an engaged audience of 21,000+ subscribers?
Email advertise@couriernewsroom.com for more information.
|
|
|
Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Amie Rivers. It was edited by Kimberly Lawson.
Iowa Starting Line is free for everyone. Your support makes our work possible.
|
|
|
You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website.
Our mailing address is:
Iowa Starting Line
c/o COURIER Newsroom
101 Avenue of the Americas
8th and 9th Floors
New York, NY 10013
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or from this list.
|
|
|
|
