Unionized Starbucks workers across America walked off the job Thursday morning in a series of strikes scheduled on the company’s busy Red Cup Day. The store closures, organized by the Starbucks Workers United group, aim to pressure the coffee giant into its first collective bargaining agreement.
Picket lines appeared at more than 60 stores in 40 cities, including locations scattered around DFW, New York, Seattle, Philadelphia, and Austin.
In North Texas, some stores temporarily closed or reduced hours as baristas joined the strike, picket signs in hand, demanding higher pay, better hours, and stronger benefits.
Red Cup Day – when Starbucks gives out free reusable holiday cups – typically drives some of the company’s biggest crowds of the year. Union leaders have hinted that this is exactly why they chose the date, citing chronic understaffing problems during busy promotional periods.
In Denton, workers protested outside a Starbucks location on University Drive, closing it for the day while waving signs reading “No Contract, No Coffee.”
“We just need fair pay, that’s really the main focus, my main focus… the new CEO hasn’t done anything for us, he honestly just made everything worse,” said one protesting barista, who wished to remain anonymous out of fear of losing her job, to The Dallas Express.
The union reportedly represents roughly 9,500 baristas at 550 stores — about 4% of Starbucks’ total employees at American locations — and has been in stalled negotiations with the coffee giant since early 2024. Talks broke down once again in December, after eight months of negotiations, according to CNBC, leading to a prior walkout during the 2024 holiday season.
CEO Brian Niccol, who took over in September 2024 after leaving Chipotle, has allegedly focused on streamlining operations and closing some underperforming stores. However, union leaders argue his changes have only hurt progress, accusing the company of backing away from prior commitments.
Workers are specifically seeking a pay hike from the $15.25 starting wage common in many states, annual raises above 2%, “better” healthcare, benefits, and guaranteed 20-hour weekly minimums for part-time employees, per Reuters.
Starbucks counters that its average pay is already approximately $19 an hour, with benefits such as health insurance, parental leave, and tuition assistance through Arizona State University, all of which are readily available to its baristas.
Regardless, over this past year, Starbucks Workers United has reportedly filed over 1,000 unfair labor practice complaints, accusing the company of retaliatory firings and closing union-friendly stores. This week’s strike was authorized after a recent vote, and following the failure of both parties to reach a new contractual agreement by November 13, the anniversary date of the first Starbucks union protests in New York.
This marks the third consecutive year of Red Cup Day walkouts by baristas. In both 2022 and 2023, union members staged similar strikes over similar complaints nationwide.