Starbucks Union’s Red Cup Strike an Inconsequential Blip on the Radar

Starbucks Workers United, which represents employees at roughly 550 of Starbucks’ 10,000 U.S. company-owned stores (about 4% of the workforce), launched strikes in 25+ cities on November 13, targeting Red Cup Day, a frequent focus of past union actions.

The union has staged holiday-season strikes in prior years; in 2024, Starbucks reported only about 60 stores temporarily closed while most remained busy. This year, the union says workers are prepared for larger, open-ended strikes, and claims to have pledges from tens of thousands of supporters to boycott Starbucks. And since the strike has been ongoing for nearly 2 months, the union’s threat was credible.

According to the union, 92% of thousands of participating baristas voted to authorize a strike. Since the strike began, Starbucks reported that nearly all of its 10,000 company-owned and 7,000 licensed North American locations remained open and thrived throughout the holiday season and the strike has negligible impact on the company.