Starbucks union says it plans to strike on Red Cup Day if contract not reached

Starbucks union members voted Wednesday to approve a strike across the United States on the coffee chain’s popular Red Cup Day next week unless a contract agreement is reached.

In a statement, Starbucks Workers United announced the strike would begin next Thursday, the day Starbucks plans to celebrate its annual, and often busy, Red Cup Day, when free and reusable red cups are distributed to customers.

The union did not disclose how many Starbucks locations would be affected; however, it said that workers in at least 25 cities are planning to strike, with further locations potentially added. The union has cited the large gap in CEO-to-worker pay in their contract demands.

According to the AFL-CIO labor federation’s annual Executive Paywatch report, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol made 6,666 times more than the average employee in 2024.

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

Starbucks Workers United represents employees at about 550 unionized shops among the coffee chain’s estimated 10,000 U.S. locations.

Starbucks disappointed in union’s decision to strike

In an emailed statement to USA Today, Starbucks Corp. spokesperson Jaci Anderson said the company was disappointed the union is choosing to strike rather than negotiate.

“When they’re ready to come back, we’re ready to talk,” she said.

In a letter to Starbucks employees, Starbucks Chief Partner Officer Sara Kelly wrote that the union represents a small part of Starbucks workers and that the union’s demands were not “serious.”

According to Kelly, these demands included a proposed 65% immediate pay increase, with a 77% increase over three years, as well as additional payments for weekends or promotion days. Kelly also said that demands, such as shutting down mobile ordering if a store has more than five orders in the queue, would “significantly affect store operations and customer experience.”

Starbucks union’s previous strikes

If the potential strike on Nov. 13 commences as planned, it will mark another instance where workers across the United States walk off the job during a busy period for Starbucks stores.

In 2023, thousands of Starbucks workers at more than 200 stores went on strike on Red Cup Day. In 2024, before a Christmas rush, 59 stores closed for five days because of a union strike.

“Union baristas mean business and are ready to do whatever it takes to win a fair contract and end Starbucks’ unfair labor practices,” Michelle Eisen, Starbucks Workers United spokesperson and 15-year veteran barista, said in the Nov. 5 release.

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Reporting by Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA Today