Starbucks union authorizes a strike on Red Cup Day next week

Starbucks union workers approved an authorization to strike on the company’s upcoming Red Cup Day, a major holiday promotional event, according to results released Wednesday.

Starbucks Workers United, the union representing around 12,000 baristas nationwide, said 92% of voters were in favor of authorizing the strike.

The union warned that it would turn Red Cup Day on Nov. 13 into “the Red Cup Rebellion” if the company doesn’t finalize a contract by then. It said the strike could spread over 25 cities initially, and baristas are ready to escalate those actions if progress isn’t made.

A Starbucks spokesperson, who expressed the company’s disappointment, said Wednesday that the coffee giant is ready to talk.

Stalled contract negotiations are at the core of the conflict between the Seattle-based company and its unionized workers.

“Our fight is about actually making Starbucks jobs the best jobs in retail,” said Jasmine Leli, a Starbucks barista and strike captain from Buffalo, New York, in a statement. “Right now, it’s only the best job in retail for Brian Niccol,” the company’s CEO.

Starbucks Workers United said the company and the union are not currently in contract negotiations because Starbucks hasn’t proposed terms that meet baristas’ demands, which include increased hours, a boost to take-home pay, and resolution of labor law violations.

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Workers United said it’s filed more than 1,000 unfair labor practice charges against the company, with over 700 remaining unresolved.

Union delegates rejected the coffee giant’s contract offer in April because it “failed to improve wages or benefits in the first year of the contract and didn’t put forth proposals to address chronic understaffing,” according to Starbucks Workers United.

“Too many of us rely on SNAP or Medicaid just to get by, and most baristas still don’t earn a livable wage,” Leli said.

The company spokesperson countered that the union is the party that left the bargaining table.

After winning the first union election in 2021, Starbucks and Workers United have been at the bargaining table since early 2024.

The annual Red Cup Day has been a target of the union’s strikes. Last year, a strike took place across five days and shuttered around 60 stores.

Michelle Eisen, a Starbucks Workers United spokesperson and 15-year veteran barista, said that the coffee giant is “stonewalling” union efforts.

“If Starbucks keeps stonewalling, they should expect to see their business grind to a halt,” Eisen said in a statement. “The ball is in Starbucks’ court.”