Our Strike

Red Cup Rebellion

Over one thousand union baristas kicked off the “Red Cup Rebellion” unfair labor practice strike on Thursday, Nov. 13 protesting Starbucks’ historic union busting and failure to finalize a fair union contract. The open-ended strike comes after six months of Starbucks refusing to offer new proposals to address workers’ demands for better staffing, higher pay, and resolution for hundreds of unfair labor practice charges.

For the latest from picket lines and actions, check out Starbucks Workers United on social media:

“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,” said Dachi Spoltore, a Pittsburgh, PA barista of 5 years who is on a ULP strike. “We’re striking for a fair union contract, resolution of unfair labor practices, and a better future at Starbucks. For every one barista on strike, dozens more allies and customers have pledged to honor the picket line and not buy Starbucks while we’re on strike.”

LATEST NEWS ON THE STRIKE: WHAT’S NEW

How We Got Here

More than 18 months after national framework contract bargaining began, baristas are on strike to protest the growing list of unresolved unfair labor practices Starbucks has allegedly committed while the company also continues to stonewall progress toward a fair contract.

A quick summary of how Starbucks is stonewalling progress toward a fair contract:

National framework bargaining began in April 2024. Over the subsequent nine months, baristas and Starbucks executives met for hundreds of hours and notched 33 tentative agreements that will tangibly improve the workplace.

In September 2024, union baristas first presented a set of economic proposals for negotiation to increase wages and benefits.
In December 2024, Starbucks said “no” to all of the baristas’ proposals and, in exchange, put forth an unserious economic package that did not raise wages in the first year of the contract, nor did it address the core issues of hours and staffing. Talks broke down.
Starbucks backtracked on the previously agreed-upon path forward. This prompted Workers United to file a national unfair labor (ULP) practice charge in December 2024 alleging Starbucks’ had failed to bargain in good faith and was undermining the representative status of the union. This ULP was amended and expanded in April 2025.
In 2025, the company unlawfully implemented new policies without bargaining with the Union, such as components of “Back to Starbucks” and the restrictive new dress code, leading to more ULP charges.
Workers United has filed over 100 new ULPs over the last year.

Recently, Starbucks started saying they’ll go back to the bargaining table “to talk”—but simply going to the bargaining table is pointless without Starbucks’ commitment to offer new proposals that address baristas’ demands on increasing hours and staffing, raising pay, and resolving hundreds of unfair labor practices.

We’ve been clear and consistent all year. Our three remaining, unaddressed demands are:

We demand 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 our hours.
We demand higher take-home pay, so we can pay our bills. Too many baristas struggle to get by, while executives make millions. Starbucks needs to put more money toward our take-home pay.
We demand 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.

TIMELINE: Starbucks Corp. x Workers United Framework Bargaining

Our Union Fight

Starbucks Workers United is made up of 11,000 baristas at over 550 active Starbucks stores. They have launched an open-ended unfair labor practice strike demanding a fair union contract, resolution of unfair labor practices, and a better future at Starbucks. Union baristas are prepared to make this the largest and longest strike in company history during the critical holiday season.

Starbucks partners around the country are experiencing the same, systemic problems: short staffing, unpredictable scheduling, low pay, rising healthcare costs, harassment, broken equipment, and unfair discipline. We saw that through worker-to-worker organizing, it was possible to address systemic issues by taking a unified stand – and that we can only lock in lasting change through a fair union contract.

CEO Brian Niccol is on the hook for turning Starbucks around, but his “Back to Starbucks” plan is not working. Sales are down, customers and baristas are unhappy, and stores are understaffed causing long wait times. Customers – especially younger customers – are turning away from Starbucks, finding other options, and spending their hard-earned money elsewhere.

Now, baristas are fed up with Starbucks’ union busting and failure to finalize a fair contract, and they’re taking action. We have won a lot as a union… but Starbucks continues to stonewall us during contract negotiations. It’s time to get this done so we can ALL move forward.

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