Around a dozen Starbucks baristas gathered on Friday to march in front of one of the chain’s locations in Aurora, kicking off a series of Illinois-based pickets in the coming days as unionized employees at stores across the country vote on whether to initiate a strike.

As customers at the coffee chain’s location near Kirk and Butterfield roads came in and out of the store — at least one wishing the baristas luck on securing a contract — chants of “Get up, get down, Aurora is a union town” and “Understaffing, lousy pay, that is how your coffee’s made” rang out from the sidewalk, accompanied by signs with messages like “No contract? No coffee!” and “Just practicing for a just contract!”

Friday’s rally in Aurora is part of a series of planned rallies across the state this month, according t

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