Starbucks union bosses in Chile on hunger strike

* Three union leaders on hunger strike since Sunday

* Protest comes amid labor strike at Starbucks Chile

* Stoppage first at company-operated Starbucks cafes

By Alexandra Ulmer and Lisa Baertlein

SANTIAGO/LOS ANGELES, July 25 (Reuters) - Three leaders of a Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O) union in Chile have begun a hunger strike as their members push on with the first labor stoppage at company-operated Starbucks cafes, officials said on Monday.

The nearly 200-member strong union launched the labor strike earlier this month, seeking pay that keeps up with inflation, a $100 monthly lunch stipend, as well as other benefits. [ID:nN1E76E16I]

"We're on hunger strike because none of our other methods are yielding results, so we had to radicalize," said Andres Giordano, president of the Sindicato de Trabajadores de Starbucks Coffee Chile union, who said he has been on hunger strike since Sunday.

"And we're going to keep radicalizing so long as Starbucks doesn't listen to us."

Cafes remain open in Chile and the company is optimistic the strike will end within days, said Starbucks spokesman Jim Olson. The labor action coincides with a growing wave of protests in Chile in recent weeks, led by students, environmentalists and miners. [ID:nN1E76H180]

Starbucks operates roughly 17,000 cafes in more than 50 countries around the world. The vast majority of its cafes are not unionized.

Starbucks is seen as having some of the restaurant industry's best pay and benefits in the United States, which has helped it fend off union organization efforts in that market, which accounts for the vast majority of its sales. (Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer in Santiago and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Simon Gardner)