Hundreds of New Union Starbucks Baristas Join Longest ULP Strike in Company History Ahead of NYC Rally.
Nationwide – The Red Cup Rebellion continues to expand on Thursday, day 22 of the longest unfair labor practice (ULP) strike in the coffee giant’s history. With the addition of hundreds of union Starbucks baristas from 26 new stores joining the picket lines, 3,000 baristas from 145+ stores across 105+ cities are now engaged in the open-ended ULP strike. Baristas’ ULP strike began on Red Cup Day, November 13 and has grown each week since as they protest Starbucks’ historic union busting and failure to finalize a fair union contract.
“We know a better future is possible at Starbucks, which is why I’m proud to join the Red Cup Rebellion alongside thousands of my fellow union baristas,” said Sabina Aguirre (she/they), a barista of 1 year from Columbus, Ohio who joined the ULP strike Thursday. “Baristas are what make Starbucks run. We need the company to stop union busting and finally finalize a fair union contract that improves our pay, hours, and staffing.”
Union stores in the following cities joined the ongoing open-ended ULP strike on Thursday: Mesa, Ariz.; National City, Calif.; Denver, Colo.; Fort Collins, Colo.; West Palm Beach, Fla.; Des Moines, Iowa; Iowa City, Iowa; Carbondale, Ill.; Carpentersville, Ill.; Chicago, Ill.; Worcester, Mass.; Epping, N.H.; Seabrook, N.H.; Stratham, N.H.; Ledgewood, N.J.; Parsippany, N.J.; Pennington, N.J.; Rockaway, N.J.; Kingston, N.Y.; Columbus, Ohio; San Antonio, Texas; Ashburn, Va.; and Falls Church, Va.
For a complete list of cities where workers are striking, see this Interested Parties Memo from Workers United. For a map of picket lines and actions near you, visit NoContractNoCoffee.org.
As of Thursday, the total number of allies and customers who have signed the ‘No Contract, No Coffee’ pledge to not buy Starbucks while baristas are on ULP strike has now grown to more than 200,000 people.
Finalizing a fair union contract would cost Starbucks less than one average day’s sales and less than Starbucks Niccol’s $96 million compensation for just four months of work in 2024, which is the biggest CEO-to-worker pay gap in the country and 6,666 times the average barista’s salary.
For over six months, Starbucks has stonewalled union baristas by refusing to put forth new proposals to address their core demands:
- Better hours to improve staffing in our stores. Understaffing is rampant, leading to longer wait times as customer orders stream in. Yet too many baristas still aren’t getting enough hours to pay the bills or meet the threshold for benefits. Starbucks needs to invest in increasing barista hours.
- Higher take-home pay. Too many baristas struggle to get by, while executives make millions. Starbucks needs to put more money toward barista’s take-home pay.
- Resolution for hundreds of outstanding unfair labor practice charges for union busting. The coffee giant has committed more labor law violations than any employer in modern history. Starbucks needs to fully resolve legal issues impacting baristas.
Baristas, Bernie and Beyond: Red Cup Rebellion Takes on the Big Apple Following Landmark Settlement over NYC Labor Violations
Joined by SEIU President April Verrett and allies from across the nation, union Starbucks baristas are set to rally Thursday outside of Starbucks’ New York City regional corporate headquarters within the Empire State Building to demand the company resolve hundreds of ULPs, end its historic union busting and return to the bargaining table with new proposals to improve pay, staffing, and scheduling.
Thursday’s ULP strike action follows the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP)’s Monday announcement of a landmark $38.9 million settlement with Starbucks for widespread violations of the city’s Fair Workweek Law—the largest worker protection settlement in New York City history. DCWP found that Starbucks committed more than half a million violations of the law since 2021, illegally denying thousands of workers across more than 300 locations the right to stable and predictable schedules, as well as the right to pick up additional hours and earn more; instead, Starbucks arbitrarily cut schedules and illegally prioritized their own profits over their workers’ rights.
Following DCWP’s announcement on Monday, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani joined dozens of striking union Starbucks baristas and allies at a picket line in Brooklyn on Monday. Union baristas’ bravery has garnered the support of elected officials from all across the country, including more than 100 U.S. Senators and Representatives.
