More than four years since it became the very first Starbucks in Oregon to join a union, Eugene’s store at 2830 Willamette St. is among several hundred shutting down this week.
In April 2022, workers with the South Eugene Starbucks cheered when the unanimous vote to join Workers United was livestreamed through a National Labor Relations Board meeting.
Moments after the vote, barista Jake LaMourie told KLCC that the very next step would be negotiating a contract with the Starbucks Corporation, which he estimated would take a year or longer.
But formalizing a contract proved elusive. Workers at the Willamette Street store went on strike in November 2025, citing Starbucks’ failure to meet demands and address concerns.
A Starbucks representative told KLCC that the Willamette Street store will close on Saturday, Sept. 26. She said the closure wasn’t retaliatory for unionizing, but was instead based on “an objective evaluation” of customer experience and financial performance as outlined in a letter sent by Mike Grams, Starbucks’ chief operating officer.
“We’re accelerating our pace toward completing 1,500 coffeehouse uplifts, and Green Apron Service has become our defining standard,” Gram’s letter states. “Our Back to Starbucks strategy is working.
“This progress has given us a clearer view of the performance of every coffeehouse. While most are benefiting from this overall momentum, some coffeehouses continue to underperform despite the hard work and commitment of all of you.”
Michelle Eisen, a representative of Starbucks Workers United and former barista, said she isn’t so sure of the reasoning, and isn’t ruling out retaliation against unionized workers. She says this latest decision is just “your typical level” of corporate greed and disorganization.
“What we’re seeing is a company that is flailing a little bit,” Eisen told KLCC Thursday. “They’re trying to figure out who they are.”
Altogether, 250 Starbucks stores will close this week, or 1% of the franchises’ 18,000 across North America.
Eisen said consumers concerned over the situation can boycott Starbucks, and support smaller, local coffeehouses in their area. The Starbucks Workers United Facebook page has shared a video calling for a boycott against a quote – “Labor law breaking corporation.”
A union communications person said while they don’t have a list of all 250 stores shuttering this week, they have a list of 20 union ones that are closing, including the Willamette Street shop. They said that Starbucks’ action doesn’t impact union activities other than that they’ll begin bargaining on behalf of members at the union stores.
“Workers United is sending a formal request for information to Starbucks about the planned closures,” Starbucks Workers United said in an email to KLCC. “So workers can be placed in another Starbucks store according to their preferences.
“It has never been more clear why baristas need the backing of a union. We love our jobs, and we know Starbucks doesn’t run without us, so we’re organizing together to demand a better future and a fair contract.”
There are seven other Starbucks stores in Eugene-Springfield that are unionized, including a Franklin Boulevard store near the University of Oregon.
The Starbucks representative said customers affected by the Willamette Street closure can go to the next nearest store, which is at the Albertsons on Hilyard. That one is not unionized.
Copyright 2026, KLCC.
