Starbucks Employees To Go On Strike On Red Cup Day At Over 100 Stores In US

Workers at over 100 Starbucks’ stores in the US said they’re going on strike on Thursday in what would be the largest labor action since a campaign to unionize the company’s stores began late last year, as reported by news agency AP.

According to the report, the strikes are scheduled to coincide with Starbucks’ annual Red Cup Day, when the company gives free reusable cups to customers who order a holiday drink. The employees said it’s often one of the busiest days of the year. Starbucks declined to say how many red cups it plans to distribute.

AP stated that the workers are demanding better pay, more consistent schedules, and higher staffing levels in busy stores.

Starbucks opposes the unionization effort, saying the company functions best when it works directly with employees.

The Seattle coffee giant has more than 9,000 company-owned stores in the US. Starbucks employees across 25 states in the US planned to take part in the strike, according to Starbucks Workers United.

Some workers planned to picket all day while others planned shorter walkouts. The union said the goal is to shut down the stores during the walkouts.

Willow Montana, a shift manager at a Starbucks store in Brighton, Massachusetts, planned to strike because Starbucks hasn’t begun bargaining with the store despite a successful union vote in April. If the company won’t bargain in good faith, why should we come to work where we are understaffed, underpaid and overworked? Montana said.

Others, including Michelle Eisen, a union organizer at one of the first stores to organize in Buffalo, New York, said workers are angry that Starbucks promised higher pay and benefits to non-union stores. Starbucks says it is following the law and cannot give union stores pay hikes without bargaining.

At least 257 Starbucks stores have voted to unionize since late last year, according to the National Labor Relations Board. Fifty-seven stores have held votes where workers opted not to unionize.

Starbucks and the union have begun contract talks at 53 stores, with 13 additional sessions scheduled, Starbucks Workers United said. No agreements have been reached so far.