06:25 AM EST, 12/24/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Starbucks ( SBUX ) faced a strike that could expand to more than 300 of its US stores on Tuesday, news outlets reported, citing a union representing more than 10,000 employees.

The planned five-day labor action began Friday in Los Angeles, Seattle, and Chicago but spread day by day to other cities, the New York Times reported.

The employees plan to return to work on Wednesday, the Times reported.

The union, Starbucks Workers United, said in an Instagram post that the strike came "in response to the company backtracking" on negotiations. "Starbucks ( SBUX ) has repeatedly pledged publicly that they intended to reach contracts by the end of the year - but they've yet to present workers with a serious economic proposal," the union said.

Starbucks ( SBUX ) and the union did not immediately reply to MT Newswires' requests for comment.