“The pressure keeps rising.”
That’s what Jacob Scroggins told me recently. (If you don’t remember him from my earlier article on it, he’s a shift supervisor at the Merle Hay Road Starbucks in Des Moines who helped organize workers to form the fourth unionized Starbucks in Iowa.)
Scroggins spoke with me about the national Starbucks Workers United escalating strike. The strike, intended to bring the company back to the bargaining table, began with several stores across the country on Nov. 13, and two of Iowa’s four union Starbucks stores joined Dec. 4—Iowa City and Des Moines.
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Jacob Scroggins, a shift supervisor at the Des Moines Starbucks and a strike captain at his store, appears in a screenshot from a video call with Iowa Starting Line’s Amie Rivers. (Amie Rivers/Iowa Starting Line)
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Scroggins said the biggest worry Des Moines Starbucks workers had about striking was how they’d get paid in the meantime. He said talking about the Starbucks Workers United strike fund helped allay those fears, as did making sure people knew why the strike was important.
“For some of us, this may mean a slight pay cut,” he told me. “But, on the other end of this, this could mean coming back to the bargaining table, fighting for better pay, fighting for resolving all these unfair labor practices, and fair treatment in the workplace.”
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Still from a video of Des Moines workers striking in front of the Starbucks on Merle Hay Road on Dec. 4, 2025. (Avery Staker and Amie Rivers/Iowa Starting Line)
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Workers on strike are asking the community to join them in picketing—they’re out there daily from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Food and hot beverages, or hand warmers, are appreciated.
“Talk to our baristas; many of us have multiple stories at this point, [like] having to call out our boss for docking people’s hours for using their protected sick time,” Scroggins said.
Workers also ask that you boycott Starbucks until workers get a contract, and demand that the company bargain in good faith.
“Since negotiations fell off last year, there’s been no sign from corporate that they have been wanting to come back to it,” Scroggins said.
The company claims they already “offer the best job in retail” and are “a great place to work,” that Starbucks Workers United’s proposals “aren’t serious, evidence-based proposals,” and that agreeing to workers’ demands would “significantly affect store operations and customer experience.”
The union disagrees, and so does Scroggins, though he acknowledged the pressure can get to workers.
“A lot of the things we’re fighting for can sometimes feel like we’re asking for too much,” he said.
But that’s only if you forget that Starbucks could agree to the union’s demands with less than one day of the giant coffee chain’s profits—and that CEO Brian Niccol had a total compensation in 2024 of $97.8 million, or 6,666 times more than the median annual salary of a Starbucks worker at $14,674—the largest CEO-to-worker pay gap among the top 500 corporations in the US.
“It would be a drop in the bucket for Starbucks to meet all of our demands,” Scroggins said.
What do you think of the Starbucks strike? Email me.
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Amie Rivers
Newsletter Editor, Iowa Starting Line
Member, COURIER United (WGA East)
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- Union endorsements: The Plumbers & Steamfitters Local Union 33 in Central and Western Iowa endorsed state Sen.
Zach Wahls for US Senate. “Zach has always stood with working people, middle class families, and retirees,” said Andy Roberts, business manager of the union. “He has the courage to stand up for us and against the corporate special interests, and he’s unafraid to stand up against corruption in either party when he feels it’s hurting Iowans. That’s exactly the kind of senator our members need in Washington.”
- Rally for ACA in Iowa City this morning: Members of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Action Fund, and Supervisor Mandi Remington will rally today at 9 a.m. at the corner of Melrose and Hawkins on the Kinnick Stadium side to call for an end to the plan to make further cuts to healthcare funding.
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General Mills Cedar Rapids workers win in new contract: More than 500 workers at General Mills in Cedar Rapids ratified a new 3-year contract last month, winning raises, extending benefits, and securing new workplace protections. Read more of what they won here.
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Affordability crisis: Nearly half of Americans said they find groceries, utility bills, health care, housing and transportation difficult to afford, according to a new poll.
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Voting on a union: The UnityPoint vote among 1,776 health care professionals at four Des Moines hospitals on whether to join Teamsters Local 90 was held Dec. 7-9. No vote tally was posted as of press time. // Forty full- and part-time drivers and monitors at Durham School Services in Urbandale will vote on whether to unionize with Teamsters Local 90 on Tuesday, Dec. 16, from 1:30-2:30 p.m. in the driver break room.
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- Wells Fargo in
West Des Moines is laying off one worker by Friday, 63 workers by Dec. 26, 26 by Jan. 2, and 14 by Jan. 23.
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Insane Impact in Des Moines is closing and laying off 90 workers by Wednesday. However, the company told the Des Moines Register they were being acquired by Musco Sports Lighting and offered all workers roles with the new company, which will remain at the location. Read more here.
- Networking Imaging Solutions in North Liberty is closing and laying off 140 workers by Dec. 18. Read more here.
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Superior Tube Products in Davenport is closing and laying off 26 workers by Dec. 19. Read more here.
- Bauer Built Manufacturing in Paton is closing and laying off 62 workers by Dec. 31.
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Mason City Clinic in Mason City is laying off 147 workers by Dec. 31. Read more about a potential WARN Act violation here.
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RELCO in Cedar Rapids is closing and laying off 34 workers by Dec. 31. Read more here.
- RTX in Cedar Rapids is laying off three workers by Dec. 31.
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Toyota Financial Services in Cedar Rapids is closing and laying off 54 workers by Dec. 31. Read more here.
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Iowa Starting Line is here to give Iowans straightforward, easy-to-understand reporting about what’s happening across the state. As our year-end drive continues through Dec. 16, reader support shapes what we’re able to cover in the year ahead.
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Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Amie Rivers. It was edited by Paula Solis.
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