In a bid to address the ongoing contract impasse with its frontline workers, Starbucks Corp. has announced that it reached out to the union representing hundreds of its stores. The dispute has strained the relationship between the coffee giant and its employees and has been a bone of contention for the past two years.

Starbucks Chief Partner Officer, Sara Kelly, wrote a letter dated December 8 to Workers United President, Lynne Fox, expressing the company's willingness to resume talks with a "set of representative stores in January." Kelly outlined the goal of completing bargaining and ratification of contracts in 2024. The company has also expressed openness to discussing ideas and rules of engagement for future bargaining sessions.

Workers United has confirmed receiving the letter and will respond after reviewing its contents. In an emailed statement, Fox stated that the union has never declined to meet with Starbucks and any steps that move the bargaining process forward in a positive manner are welcome.

While approximately 350 of Starbucks' 9,000 corporate-run U.S. locations have voted to join Workers United, none have successfully secured a union contract thus far. Both Kelly and Fox acknowledged the need to overcome the current impasse, recognizing that it has not proven beneficial for Starbucks, Workers United, or their partners. Kelly appealed for support and agreement from Workers United to restart bargaining.

One of the major points of disagreement between the two sides has been the ground rules for meetings, including the participation of workers via videoconference. Starbucks alleged last month that the union had not agreed to meet for contract talks in several months, while the union claimed that the company refused to meet unless workers agreed to infringements on their rights.

In her letter, Kelly proposed conducting sessions without video and audio feeds or recording and scheduling sessions to ensure participation from partners at each store. She also assured that Starbucks will refrain from any disparaging, profane, threatening, discriminatory, or abusive language or conduct during bargaining sessions and will maintain confidentiality of personal information and personnel matters.

The relationship between Starbucks and the union has faced recent challenges, including a strike in November where thousands of baristas claimed that Starbucks had not engaged in fair negotiations. The strike coincided with Red Cup Day, a day when Starbucks distributes holiday-themed reusable cups.

In October, Starbucks sued Workers United following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict, alleging that the union used the company's intellectual property in social media posts suggesting support for violence against civilians. In response, the union filed a defamation lawsuit against Starbucks, accusing the company of exploiting the tragic situation in the Middle East to harm the union's reputation.

Starbucks recently posted better-than-expected results for the quarter ending October 1, along with a positive outlook for fiscal 2024. However, concerns have arisen regarding the company's sales as third-party data indicated a significant slowdown in November.

Starbucks shares have remained relatively stable in New York trading, with a year-to-date decline of around 3%.