UPDATES: NYC delivery workers win, unionized baristas, and heat protections
October 6, 2026 | TEAM COWORKER
In this edition of the Lunch Break Labor News, we have updates on Starbucks workers health organizing and calls for a boycott, a settlement awarding NYC delivery workers over $100 million, OSHA heat protections, AI and workers, and a video game workers union win.
Together, we look at some of the latest developments for workers in America. Here are some of the most important updates:
Starbucks Boycott and Silica Powder Health Win
Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) escalated their fight against Starbucks executives by calling for a boycott of Starbucks!
It's been five years since Starbucks baristas won their first union election at a cafe in Buffalo. Over 700 union wins later, Starbucks is still refusing to finalize a fair, first union contract with reasonable pay, hours, staffing, and protections.
SBWU workers recently organized to protect their health after Starbucks introduced a silica-based Refresher drink powder that was making baristas sick. Under pressure from their employees, Starbucks discontinued the powder.
Starbucks is the biggest labor law violator in U.S. history. CEO Brian Niccol's compensation package last year was over $30,000,000 — 1,794 times more than the median Starbucks worker. And the company just announced the closure of 250 stores, which will have a serious impact on workers. SBWU plans to bargain with Starbucks to protect unionized baristas at those cafes.
As SBWU continues the years-long campaign for a fair union contract, you can join their boycott here.
DoorDash Workers Receive $115 Million After NYC Lawsuit
DoorDash settled with the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection and sent $115 million in underpaid wages to delivery workers. 264,000 delivery workers will receive a portion of that settlement and NYC will receive $16.7 million in fines from DoorDash.
It's a major win for workers against Big Tech's underhanded tactics to underpay and mistreat its workers. UberEats still faces the same lawsuit from the city of New York.
OSHA Heat Standards Under Attack
Every summer, workers in warehouses, trucks, factories, and beyond deal with extreme heat. It's an underdiscussed worker safety crisis, with people reporting severe nausea, dizziness, exhaustion, and worse on the job due to the heat.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been developing regulations to protect workers from heat since 2021, but Republicans in Congress are pushing legislation to block these protections from reaching the finish line.
Safety experts say that national heat protections for workers could prevent 50,000 heat-related injuries and illnesses annually. Workers have organized and advocated around heat safety, and together we can win the critical protections workers need on the job.
The Latest on AI and Workers
The recent AI safety and security incidents have raised alarm bells, but a slowdown doesn't seem imminent. So we're paying attention to the latest on the impacts of artificial intelligence on workers.
AI companies say their tech could mean less work for people in the future, yet their employees report working up to 90 hours a week. Senator Bernie Sanders and others introduced a bill to reduce the work week to 32 hours (a four-day week) tied to advances in AI. If a technological revolution is coming, workers should benefit.
A new study shows that "AI-exposed" jobs — positions that corporations are filling in work with AI tech — have lower wage growth and slower hiring. It's well documented that the workplaces adopting AI are saddling workers with burnout, lower productivity, and atrophying skills as they deal with poor outputs from algorithms and bots.
Union Contract at Microsoft-Blizzard
Nearly 2,000 workers at the video game company Blizzard, owned by Microsoft, just won their first union contract.
Workers had staged walkouts under the previous parent company while fighting for better protections. “We know we are at the start of a labor movement in video games and tech at large," said one of the unionized artists at Blizzard.
The contract included wage raises and guaranteed severance packages, a key part of the negotiations in an industry rife with layoffs. It also included the right to bargain over use of AI in the workplace.
Our Take
Starbucks workers are a testament to how far we can come when we join together to fight, and how long it can take to make progress. Over ten years ago, baristas started a Coworker petition calling on Starbucks management to change the dress code to allow workers to have visible tattoos while on the job. And they won. They've had other wins along the way to unionize over 700 stores, but still have to keep up the fight to secure a contract.
The struggle against millionaire and billionaire executives won't end any time soon, but our progress lifts up workers every time we take a step forward.
Trying to Win Change in Your Own Workplace?
If you’re seeking change in your workplace, company, or field, you can start your own petition at Coworker to build momentum and win. Your petition can take on any labor issue — from safer working conditions and better pay, to stopping hour cuts and layoffs, and even putting an end to unfair or abusive policies for workers.
With workers uniting across the country to organize, it’s a great moment to launch your own petition. It’s easy to start one, and it’s even easier to share it and start building support. You can get started on your Coworker petition here.