Yesterday, November 13, was Red Cup Day at Starbucks, the annual giveaway(ish) where customers who order (most but not all) handcrafted holiday or fall beverages are gifted with a 16oz reusable red cup (while supplies last). A nice tradition for a cup-crazy nation. What could grinch it all up? As it turns out, Starbucks themselves being the Grinch/Scrooge/Insert-Holiday-Villain-Here is what cracked the coffee pot this year. Starbucks finally began negotiating with the baristas’ union — Starbucks Workers United (SWU) — back in April 2024. By April of this year, the two groups were close to an agreement, but SWU felt Starbucks hadn’t adequately addressed a few key issues in the latest draft the corporation offered. Things like better hours, sufficient staffing, and higher pay. But instead of continuing negotiations, Starbucks has just blanked on SWU entirely. So SWU rallied their troops and 1,000+ workers from 65+ stores across 40+ cities went on strike… yesterday, November 13, Red Cup Day. Revenge is a drink best served iced with cold foam.
“We’re turning the Red Cup Season into the Red Cup Rebellion. Starbucks’ refusal to settle a fair union contract and end union busting is forcing us to take drastic action,” Amos Hall, a barista at a store in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, told ABC News in a statement.
In a statement to ABC News, Starbucks spokesperson Jaci Anderson downplayed the scale of the anticipated strike and faulted the union for what she described as a refusal to bargain with the company.
“We are disappointed that Workers United, who only represents around 4% of our partners, has voted to authorize a strike instead of returning to the bargaining table. When they’re ready to come back, we’re ready to talk,” Anderson said.
“Any agreement needs to reflect the reality that Starbucks already offers the best job in retail, including more than $30 an hour on average in pay and benefits for hourly partners,” Anderson added.
Anderson contested the union’s characterization of the impasse in negotiations, saying the union brought an incomplete proposal to its members for the ill-fated vote in April.
Starbucks Workers United said it represents more than 12,000 unionized baristas at over 600 stores. The company provided ABC News with a lower estimate, saying the union counts 9,500 members at about 550 locations.
In February 2024, Starbucks Workers United and Starbucks announced they would work on a “foundational framework” to reach a collective bargaining agreement for stores. Negotiations began in April of that year.
…Meanwhile, the company and the union have yet to strike a deal on a contract. The average length of time before a new union signs its first contract is 409 days, according to a Bloomberg Law analysis in 2021. Roughly 625 days have passed since Starbucks and the union announced a mutual commitment to reach an agreement.
Solidarity forever! Now I’m actually glad that some baristas bought those dang Bearista cups before opening stores. When we covered that story earlier this week, some of you were already commenting on the imminent strike and encouraging fellow bitches to boycott on Thursday to show support. I’m happy to report that my boycott was successful… but only because, full disclosure, I’m a Dunkin’ girl! But I swear I didn’t let that bias cloud my judgment — like cream poured over a cold brew — when I sat down to write this story. ABC News’ reporting gave a lot of space to Starbucks’ rebuttal; for more from SWU, they have a thorough, clear accounting of why they felt compelled to strike, as well as a handy timeline of how negotiations went from simmering to percolating to scalding. While the Starbucks spokesperson tried hard to downplay the percentage of their total workforce that’s actually represented by the union, SWU highlights on their website that the cost of Starbucks meeting SWU’s contract requirements would amount to “less than one average day’s sales and less than Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol’s $96 million compensation for just four months of work in 2024.” Bravo, Starbucks: you’ve left a bitter taste in my mouth and I don’t even drink your coffee.
Boycott supported! More power to the workers! I love to see any workforce take their billion dollar companies to task!
That’s why that stupid glass bear cup bothered me so much. It was a complete distraction from Corporate Starbies. To deflect the noise how they treated the workers. Sudden store closing laying them off. To help stop people thinking about the Union. It was a really gross marketing move.
Did some Barista’s get their Bearista first. Sure, but not to the level that was being reported in the news and Tik Tok.
As the great Sinead O’Connor (RIP) once said ‘fight the real enemy’
I stopped going to Starbucks earlier this year and haven’t looked back.
Solidarity! Don’t cross the picket line –
Standing up for Starbucks workers’ rights is making a stand for all of the working class struggling to survive in a society of billionaires and corporate greed.
#BoycottStarbucks
I will always support a union. ☕️. Plenty of other coffee shops out there!