Here’s the moral puzzle of the week: a $37.2 billion coffee titan that just told investors the turnaround is “taking hold” and bragged about 62 straight quarterly dividends… versus the barista who pulls your double‑nonfat‑no‑whip while trying to win a first contract for basic staffing and pay. If you need help choosing, your compassion might be decaf.
Baristas: This isn’t “kids being dramatic.” It’s the longest work stoppage in Starbucks history. By December 11, the union reported more than 3,800 participants across 180-plus stores in 130 cities. After hundreds of union wins since 2021, there’s still no first contract. Starbucks says disruptions are minimal; workers say the only thing minimal is bargaining. Pick who you believe, but at least read the numbers.
If your knee‑jerk reply is “well, the business can’t afford it,” see above: $37.2B in FY25 revenue and the dividend keeps flowing. If there’s room for shareholders every 90 days, there’s room for the people who make the product every day.
Child‑care workers (WA): Different industry, same logic, except here the math is brutal because care is the product. You can’t “optimize” infant ratios or automate a cuddle. Wages are roughly 50–60% of a program’s costs; when pay is low, teachers leave; when they leave, your waitlist grows and quality drops. That’s not ideology; it’s a balance sheet.
Meanwhile, Washington families stare down prices like $21,348/year for infant care in centers, more than a lot of rents or in‑state tuition. And frontline educators’ pay still sits near service‑sector wages (national median $15.41/hr), even as the state invests through the Fair Start for Kids Act. This is why child‑care workers organize, and why public funding has to ride shotgun with those contracts.
If you want receipts on organizing actually moving the needle: Washington’s SEIU 925 Family Child Care Providers just secured a funded 2025–27 agreement covering 3,548 providers, because when workers stand together, the budget finally hears them. That’s what “essential” looks like after the applause fades.
So let’s be clear about sides.
• Backing baristas doesn’t mean you hate coffee; it means you like it made by humans who aren’t sprinting understaffed through a promotion day so a spreadsheet looks pretty.
• Backing child‑care unions doesn’t mean you love taxes; it means you know the only sustainable way to raise wages and keep slots open is public money plus contracts, because the private market can’t square that circle without breaking families or teachers.
If your hot take is “I’m with Starbucks,” congratulations: you’ve chosen the logo over the people. We’re with the humans, the ones who hand you the cup and the ones who keep your toddlers safe, regulated, and learning while you’re at work.
How to be useful (two moves):
• Coffee: When your local shop is struck, walk the line, bring waters, post a photo, and say the quiet part out loud: “Pay and staff fairly. Bargain a first contract.” (The strike exists because normal enforcement is slow; public pressure isn’t.)
• Care: Call your WA reps to keep Fair Start funded at true cost of quality (not just “market rate”), and say you expect wage floors in contracts so teachers can stay. That’s how waitlists shrink and incidents drop.
Bottom line: If you think it’s “dumb” to support the workers who make your mornings possible and raise the next generation, ask yourself who benefits when you don’t.
Spoiler: it’s not your kid, and it’s not the person steaming your milk.
Executive Dysfunction Weekly
Receipts
• Starbucks FY2025 press release: revenue $37.2B; 62 consecutive quarterly dividends.
• Strike scope: 3,800+ workers, 180+ stores, 130 cities; longest Starbucks walkout.
• Child‑care costs in WA (infant center avg $21,348/yr).
• Child‑care wages (U.S. median $15.41/hr, May 2024).
• Labor share in child care (50–60% of costs): U.S. Treasury report on child‑care supply.
• SEIU 925 Family Child Care Providers CBA 2025–27, 3,548 members, funded.
