The annual event typically marks a venti-size giveaway of the company’s free red holiday cups to customers who order peppermint mochas, gingerbread chai lattes, and other holiday drinks.
This year, workers at over 360 Starbucks union locations nationwide, including at least 28 in California, were encouraged by the union to walk off their jobs Thursday to protest stalled contract negotiations with the coffee giant. Some workers started walking out Wednesday in St. Louis, Missouri.
“This year, on the heels of victories won by striking workers across different industries nationwide, Starbucks workers are taking the rebellion to the next level,” Starbucks Workers Union said in an online press release.
Thousands of employees are expected to take part in the strike. The union represents more than 9,000 employees across the U.S., according to its website.
“We deserve better. We do not have to accept things as they are now,” the unnamed worker said.
Contract negotiations between the union and the corporation are ongoing. The union is asking for a base pay of $20 an hour for baristas, improved working conditions, racial justice and sexual harassment policies, and 100-percent employer paid healthcare, among other demands, according to its website.
Starbucks baristas formed their own union, called Starbucks Workers United, starting in 2021. Red Cup Day is one of the most difficult and understaffed days for baristas, according to the union. The organization called for a similar protest at more than 100 stores on Red Cup Day last year.
The union is also asking customers and allies to lead actions at the stores in solidarity with workers.
The company responded to the union’s claim about contract negotiations in a response to the strike.
“We are aware that Workers United has publicized a day of action at a small subset of our U.S. stores next week. ... Workers United hasn’t agreed to meet to progress contract bargaining in more than four months and has yet to deliver on the campaign promises they’ve made,” Starbucks told Reuters Nov. 13 in a statement.
The company has 16,255 stores in the nation and 3,104—about 19 percent of all U.S. locations—in California.
In addition to the strike announcement, union workers also announced Oct. 20 they would “stand with Palestine” after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by the terrorist organization Hamas.
Northern California
- Starbucks, 1901 Mission St., Santa Cruz
- Starbucks, 193 Sunset Ave., Suisun City
- Starbucks, 3347 N. Texas St., Fairfield
- Starbucks, 1006 1st St., Napa
- Starbucks, 1003 L St., Sacramento
- Starbucks, 2701 N St., Sacramento
- Starbucks, 2240 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa
Central California
- Starbucks, 1200 Chester Ave., Bakersfield
- Starbucks, 145 East Yosemite Ave., Merced
- Starbucks, 3000 Geer Rd., Turlock
- Starbucks, 1687 N. California St., Stockton
- Starbucks, 5010 West Ln., Stockton
San Francisco Bay Area
- Starbucks, 459 Tresidder Memorial Union, 459 Lagunita Dr., Stanford
- Starbucks, 675 Portola Dr., San Francisco
- Starbucks, 1501 Fillmore St., San Francisco
- Starbucks, 1200 Clay St., Oakland
- Starbucks, 1080 Monroe St., Albany
Los Angeles County
- Starbucks, 6756 Greenleaf Ave., Whittier
- Starbucks, 1400 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles
- Starbucks, 3517 Foothill Blvd., Glendale
- Kerckhoff Lawn, University of California, Los Angeles
- Starbucks, 15501 Devonshire St., Los Angeles
- Starbucks, 3020 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica
Inland Empire
- Starbucks at University of California, Riverside, 400 W. Big Springs Rd., Riverside
- Starbucks, 507 Euclid Ave., Ontario
- Claremont Village Starbucks, 203 N. Yale Ave., Claremont
- Starbucks, 3801 W. Temple Ave., Pomona
Orange County
- Starbucks, 800 N. State College Blvd., Fullerton
San Diego
- UC San Diego Starbucks, 9500 Gilman Dr., San Diego
