Starbucks union launches Red Cup Day strike at some stores

The union representing Starbucks baristas launched an open-ended strike at stores in more than 40 cities on Thursday, coinciding with Red Cup Day, one of the coffee giant’s most lucrative sales days of the year.

- By Suhauna Hussain

The union, Starbucks Workers United, said the strike involved more than 1,000 baristas in some 65 stores as of Thursday morning, but threatens to spread to more locations if contract talks that have dragged on for years do not progress.

The unionized workers say they are striking for better take-home pay, more predictable scheduling and to resolve hundreds of unfair labor practice charges workers have filed against the company with federal regulators in recent years.

“We're striking to fight back,” Jeremiah Pettus, a barista at the Starbucks location at Downtown Disney in Anaheim, said in an emailed statement. “Starbucks knows where we stand. They know our demands. The ball is in their court.”

The Downtown Disney store launched its strike days earlier than other locations, on Nov. 8, as a result of tensions flaring between management and the unionized workers, the union said. It declined to detail what specifically prompted the early action.

The strike so far involves about 10 California stores, including locations in Anaheim, Long Beach, San Diego, Santa Clarita, Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley, Seal Beach and Soquel, according to the union.

Although Starbucks said its operations are seeing minimal impact, the action could hinder business during Starbucks’ busy holiday season. The company is probably relying on that sales spike to improve its performance under Chief Executive Brian Niccol, who took the helm last year.