Starbucks Workers Take a Stand: Fighting for Fairness and Unionization Workers at over 200 Starbucks stores across the United States are preparing to strike this Thursday, in what organizers are calling the largest strike yet in the ongoing effort to unionize the company’s stores. The Workers United union has strategically chosen Starbucks’ annual Red Cup Day, typically one of the busiest days of the year, to stage this walkout. On this day, Starbucks gives away thousands of reusable cups to customers who order holiday drinks. The union expects more than 5,000 workers to participate in what they are calling the “Red Cup Rebellion.” In addition to Thursday’s strike, around 30 stores staged walkouts on Wednesday. The decision to strike stems from various concerns raised by Starbucks employees, with understaffing being a significant issue. Workers feel overwhelmed with filling delivery orders, drive-thru orders, mobile orders, and in-store orders, and promotions like Red Cup Day only add to the stress. Neha Cremin, a Starbucks barista in Oklahoma City, explains that understaffing not only affects workers but also creates an unpleasant experience for customers. She stresses that Starbucks has made it clear they won’t listen to workers, so they are advocating for themselves by going on strike. This strike marks the fifth major labor action taken by Starbucks workers since late 2021, when a store in Buffalo, New York, became the first to successfully unionize. Last year, workers from 110 stores walked out on Red Cup Day, and more recently, a strike in June protested the removal of Pride displays from Starbucks stores. However, despite these labor actions, Starbucks’ sales have remained largely unaffected. The company reported a 12% rise in revenue to a record $36.0 billion for its 2023 fiscal year, which ended on October 1. Starbucks downplays the potential impact of the strike, stating that it will only occur at a “small subset” of the company’s 9,600 company-owned U.S. stores. The company remains committed to working with all partners and hopes that Workers United’s priorities will shift to include the shared success of Starbucks’ partners and negotiating contracts for those they represent. Since late 2021, at least 363 company-operated Starbucks stores in 41 states have voted to unionize. This effort by Starbucks workers has been at the forefront of a period of labor activism that has seen strikes by workers from Amazon, the auto industry, and Hollywood. According to Johnnie Kallas, a Ph.D. candidate and the project director of Cornell University’s Labor Action Tracker, over 457,000 workers have participated in 315 strikes in the U.S. just this year. Starbucks opposes the unionization effort and has yet to reach a labor agreement with any of the stores that have voted to unionize. The process has been contentious, with regional offices of the National Labor Relations Board issuing 111 complaints against Starbucks for unfair labor practices, including refusal to bargain. Starbucks claims that Workers United is refusing to schedule bargaining sessions. While Starbucks has begun bargaining with the Teamsters union, which organized a Starbucks store outside of Pittsburgh in June 2022, the two sides have not yet reached a labor agreement. It remains unclear whether workers at the unionized store would also be participating in the strike. Tensions between Starbucks and Workers United have escalated, with Starbucks suing Workers United last month. The company alleged that a pro-Palestinian post on a union account damaged its reputation and demanded that the union stop using the name Starbucks Workers United. In response, Workers United filed its own lawsuit, claiming that Starbucks defamed the union by suggesting it supports terrorism and violence. As Starbucks workers prepare to strike, they are united in their fight for fairness, better working conditions, and the right to unionize. Their voices are part of a larger movement for workers’ rights, as employees across various industries stand up for better treatment, fair wages, and the opportunity to have a say in their working conditions. The outcome of this strike will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the future of labor relations within Starbucks and potentially inspire workers across the country to continue fighting for their rights.