Business
Starbucks Workers United holds rally in NYC as strikes continue for a third week
NEW YORK — Starbucks Workers United held a rally outside the Empire State Building on Thursday as its open-ended strike entered its third week and no signs of an impending resolution.
Adding to the crunch of holiday shoppers and tourists, several hundred picketers gathered outside of the famous landmark, which is also the site of a swanky three-floor Starbucks Reserve location and the company’s regional headquarters.
Members of other unions, like the AFL-CIO and Service Employees International Union, which is affiliated with Workers United, protested alongside baristas, chanting “No coffee, no contract” and “What’s disgusting? Union busting” between speakers.
“Their fight is a fight really for all of us, to workers across the country, to corporations like Starbucks, across the country that workers are fed up with the status quo, and they’re not going to take it anymore,” SEIU President April Verrett told CNBC.
Twelve demonstrators were arrested for blocking the building’s entrance.
Baristas launched the strike on Starbucks Red Cup Day last month, seeking new proposals from the company that address its top issues to finalize a contract. Those include improved hours, higher wages and the resolution of hundreds of unfair labor practice charges levied against Starbucks.
Out of the 145 locations involved in the strike, 55 remain closed, according to a company spokesperson.
The two parties have not been in active negotiations to reach a contract after talks between them fell apart late last year. The strikes have not changed that fact so far.
While the strike has injected uncertainty into Starbucks’ busy holiday season, the company has said its sales haven’t been affected. CEO Brian Niccol told employees that Red Cup Day was its strongest in history.
A successful holiday season will be key to the chain’s turnaround under Niccol. Starbucks broke a nearly two-year streak of same-store sales declines in its most recently reported quarter. Past strikes have impacted less than 1% of its stores, the company said.
The New York City rally comes after the company paid $38.9 million to settle violations of the city’s Fair Workweek Law. Other large restaurant employers, like Chipotle, have previously run afoul of the law, which Starbucks said is “notoriously challenging” to navigate.
The city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection found Starbucks committed half a million violations of the law since 2021. The Fair Workweek law requires regular scheduling week to week, mandates schedules be provided 14 days in advance and says hours cannot be reduced by more than 15% without legitimate business reasons.
DCWP Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga, who spoke at Thursday’s rally, said the timing of the record-breaking settlement with the ongoing strike was coincidental.
“While the NYC laws remain unchanged and complex, our focus hasn’t shifted – we’re committed to creating the best job in retail and to ensuring our practices follow all laws,” Starbucks said in a statement.
The city’s current Mayor Eric Adams and Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani have rallied behind striking workers. Mamdani joined Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., alongside baristas in Brooklyn earlier this week.
Both Starbucks and the union have pointed blame at the other for failing to reach a bargaining agreement and maintain they are ready to speak when the other is. The two parties entered into mediation in February, and hundreds of barista delegates voted down the economic package Starbucks proposed in April.
The company has said it is investing $500 million to improve the employee experience as part of its “Back to Starbucks” strategy. That investment includes upgrading its scheduling technology and adding more baristas to rosters.
“As we’ve said, 99% of our 17,000 U.S. locations remain open and welcoming customers —including many the union publicly stated would strike but never closed or have since reopened. Regardless of the union’s plans, we do not anticipate any meaningful disruption. When the union is ready to return to the bargaining table, we’re ready to talk,” spokesperson Jaci Anderson said in a statement.
The FTSE 100 forged ahead on Thursday as a less “hawkish” than feared rate cut by the US Federal Reserve and a brighter US economic outlook spurred stocks, despite some fresh AI worry.
The FTSE 100 index closed up 47.63 points, 0.5%, at 9,703.16. The FTSE 250 ended 21.13 points higher, 0.1%, at 21,852.10, and the AIM All-Share ended up 1.04 points, 0.1%, at 747.66.
In Europe on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed up 0.8%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended 0.7% higher.
After Europe’s close on Wednesday, the US central bank cut interest rates by 25 basis points as expected and chairman Jerome Powell struck a softer tone than some had feared.
Bank of America called it an “unintentionally dovish cut”, Citi said markets “had overestimated how hawkish Mr Powell would sound,” while JPMorgan noted Mr Powell’s opening remarks were “less forceful than those used in October”.
“Relative to markets that were looking for Powell to push back more strongly at the potential for further cuts, this was a dovish outcome,” Citi said.
Goldman Sachs said “dovish labour market comments” and the “lack of a stronger lean toward a January pause led to a dovish market reaction”.
In addition, the Federal Reserve raised expectations for economic growth in the US for 2026 through to 2028, expecting a bounce back after the government shutdown.
Sarah House, analyst at Wells Fargo, said: “Our base case remains that the current easing cycle is not over yet but rather that it is entering a slower phase.”
Stocks in New York were mixed at the time of the London equity close after rising sharply on Wednesday in the wake of the Fed’s rate call.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.0%, the S&P 500 index was 0.4% lower, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.1%.
Oracle knocked the more optimistic market mood after hours on Wednesday by warning of higher capital expenditure as it grapples with buoyant artificial intelligence demand.
Shares in the Texas-based cloud technologies-focused company were 14% lower in New York on Thursday around the time of the London close.
Stifel noted shares are being hit by “continued uncertainty around exactly how Oracle is going to fund its data centre build-out requirements”.
The Fed rate call saw bond yields drop and the dollar fade.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.12%, down from 4.18% on Wednesday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was at 4.77%, trimmed from 4.78%.
The pound was quoted higher at 1.3416 dollars at the time of the London equities close on Thursday, compared with 1.3332 dollars on Wednesday.
The euro stood at 1.1746 dollars, up against 1.1647 dollars. Against the yen, the dollar was trading lower at 155.24 yen compared with 156.36 yen.
Figures showed the US trade deficit unexpectedly decreased markedly in September.
According to data published by the US Census Bureau and the US Bureau of Economic Analysis the country’s trade deficit narrowed by 11% monthly in September to 52.8 billion dollars, from 59.3 billion dollars in August.
The FXStreet-cited consensus was for the trade deficit to increase to 63.3 billion dollars in September.
The last time the US’s trade deficit was lower was in June 2020, when it was at 49.16 billion dollars.
US exports climbed 3.0% to 289.3 billion dollars, while imports edged up 0.6% to 342.1 billion dollars.
In London, renewed strength in the gold price lifted Endeavour Mining, up 3.2%, and Fresnillo, up 3.0%.
Magnum Ice Cream continued its strong first week of trading, rising a further 5.6%, while an AI collaboration with IBM supported Pearson, up 2.0%.
Grocer J Sainsbury was lifted 2.1% by an upgrade by Citi to “buy” but the same broker reiterated a “sell” rating on Primark owner Associated British Foods, helping push shares down 1.6%.
Also on the wane, betting operator Entain, which fell 2.2% after stating Rob Wood, its chief financial officer and deputy chief executive, will step down in 2026 after 13 years at the firm.
On the FTSE 250, RS Group took the spoils, up 6.2%, after netting an upgrade to “overweight” from JPMorgan.
But Ceres Power slid 11% after a scathing attack from activist short-seller Grizzly Research.
In a report, Grizzly Research said Ceres is “hiding a flawed business model with abysmally small revenue potential behind a facade of big-name announcements and lofty projections”.
Grizzly said its research shows that Ceres has a history of “ambitious partnerships and unrealistic projections that keeps repeating”.
Faring better, Drax Group advanced 1.4% after stating it expects full-year adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to be at the top end of the consensus forecast range of £892 million to £909 million.
In addition, the electricity generator said it is looking at opportunities to maximise value from the Drax Power Station site, which covers 1,000 acres in North Yorkshire.
Brent oil was quoted at 60.91 dollars a barrel at the time of the London equities close on Thursday, down from 61.42 dollars late Wednesday.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Magnum Ice Cream, up 63.20 pence at 1,186.20p, Ashtead Group, up 225.00p at 5,010.00p, JD Sports Fashion, up 2.80p at 81.72p, Endeavour Mining, up 110.00p at 3,544.00p and IAG, up 12.00p at 397.60p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Informa, down 30.60p at 899.00p, Smith & Nephew, down 34.50p at 1,214.50p, Entain, down 16.60p at 743.20p, AB Foods, down 33.00p at 2,097.50p and Centrica, down 2.20p at 165.30p.
Friday’s economic calendar has CPI prints in France and Germany and UK GDP and industrial production figures.
Friday’s UK corporate calendar has half-year results from Taylor Maritime.
– Contributed by Alliance News
The cost of travelling on the London Underground, the Overground and the Elizabeth line is set to rise by 5.8% next year, the mayor of London has confirmed.
The increase is 1% above the rate of inflation and will come into force in March.
The freeze in national rail fares announced last month will not apply to Transport for London services.
Sir Sadiq Khan says he proposes to freeze the price of Travelcards until March 2027 which means the weekly and daily caps will not change, and fares on London buses and trams will not rise.
The mayor said a rise – equivalent to one percentage point above the RPI rate of inflation – was a condition of the £2.2bn capital funding deal that TfL agreed with central government in the spending review in June.
He said the freeze on bus and tram fares until July 2026 was “an emergency cost-of-living measure” funded by City Hall.
Sir Sadiq added: “This is the seventh time I’ve been able to freeze bus and tram fares, and it will particularly benefit those on the lowest incomes in our city.
“The plans would mean that only fares on Tube and TfL rail services would now increase from March 2026.
“I also plan to ensure that increases to pay-as-you-go fares on the Tube will be capped at 20p, with many only rising by just 10p.”
City Hall Conservatives criticised the announcement.
In a statement, they said: “Whilst the rest of the country enjoys a fare freeze, Sadiq Khan has burdened Londoners with cost increases that are disproportionately going to affect the young professionals that are the backbone of our city’s economy, as well the other millions of passengers who use these services.”
The Liberal Democrats said the mayor had “failed to make this case to his ‘mates’ in government like he promised he would, he’s now expecting working Londoners to stump up the costs instead”.
The fare rises will apply to all TfL-run rail services, including the Docklands Light Railway.
The mayor said the increase would mean an off-peak pay-as-you-go Tube fare from Tottenham Court Road in Zone 1 to Edgware in Zone 5 would rise from £3.60 to £3.80.
Pay-as-you-go fares on Tube and TfL rail services within Zone 1 only will rise from £2.90 to £3.10 in the peak, and from £2.80 to £3.00 during off-peak and weekends.
A peak-time journey from Upminster in Zone 6 to Cannon Street in Zone 1 will increase from £5.80 to £5.90.
The government capital funding deal is expected to help to replace aging fleets, upgrade signalling technology and improve buses.
The fare rises will be subject to a final decision by the mayor.
Business
EPFO Offers Low-Penalty Route For Employers To Enrol Left-Out Employees, Check How To Do It
Last Updated:
EPFO launches a six-month window for employers to declare left-out employees under Employees Enrolment Scheme 2025.
Under existing rules, all employees earning up to Rs 15,000 in basic pay must be enrolled in EPFO schemes.
The Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has announced a six-month window for employers to declare left-out employees between July 01, 2017 and October 31, 2025. It will help them to regularise past compliance. It has the option to avail benefits under the Employees’ Enrolment Scheme 2025. The special six-month window is open between November 01, 2025 and April 30, 2026.
The regulator is offering several benefits to employers for declaring left-out employees under the scheme. One of the key benefits is a nominal penalty of Rs 100 per establishment for declaring left-out employees. Moreover, there will be no suo moto action during the scheme period against employers.
There is a provision to waive the employee share if not deducted.
All establishments, whether already covered or not covered under the
EPF & MP Act, 1952, are eligible to participate in the Employees’
Enrolment Campaign, 2025.
The objective of the EEC–2025 is to:
a. Facilitate voluntary compliance by employers in enrolling all eligible
employees left out of EPF coverage;
b. Enable employers to regularize past defaults with minimal penal
consequences; and
c. Broaden the social security coverage under the EPF & MP Act, 1952.
How Can They Declare?
Declarations can be filed online only through the EPFO Portal.
Employers will generate a Face Authentication–based UAN for
each declared employee using the UMANG App.
Contributions will be remitted using Electronic Challan-cum-Return
(ECR) linked to a Temporary Return Reference Number (TRRN)
generated during the declaration process.
Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google. December 11, 2025, 18:31 IST
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