Mayor Wilson Broke Her Starbucks Boycott — Starbucks Workers United Says They Still Appreciate Her Support

In a recent public flub, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson admitted in a TV news interview that

she “broke” her now infamous boycott of Starbucks with a blueberry muffin latte. Wilson has earned ire from both sides of the political spectrum over her comments related to the coffee giant, from detractors eagerly blaming her calls to boycott the chain for the company opening a new corporate office in Tennessee to her supporters wondering if the business lobby lobotomized her before a media blitz where she seemingly retreated from her previous solidarity with the Starbucks workers. 

But despite all the heat, Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) maintains Wilson has been supportive of their campaign for a fair contract. After all, she got that blueberry muffin latte while meeting with workers to talk about their unionization efforts. 

“Mayor Wilson was elected by a movement of Seattleites concerned about affordability, unchecked corporate greed, and an uncertain future for working people,” SBWU said in a statement to The Burner.  “We appreciate the support she’s shown local union baristas both on the picket line and in City Hall in our fight for a fair contract.” 

In a moment that subsequently went viral, FOX13 reporter Hana Kim questioned Wilson on whether she still supported the Starbucks boycott during a long-form interview earlier this month.

“I had the pleasure of visiting the Pike Place Market Starbucks a little while ago and I ordered — I think it was a blueberry muffin latte that was, like, a staff creation?” Wilson said. “So I guess I — I guess I broke my boycott.” 

She hesitated for a moment before adding, “But I — you know, I don’t know. What do you want me to say about that?”

Kim, not quite sticking the landing for her question, asked if the mayor “support[s] them.” Wilson said she “absolutely supports unions” and that she went to the Pike Place Market Starbucks to speak to workers who are unionizing. Kim quickly cut Wilson off to move on to questions from the audience. 

Wilson’s saga with Starbucks predates her inauguration. Immediately after declaring her unlikely victory at a press conference at the Labor Temple last November, Wilson joined baristas and their allies outside the shuttered Starbucks Reserve Roastery as part of their “Red Cup Rebellion.” There, Wilson joined speakers in supporting SBWU’s ongoing “No Contract, No Coffee” campaign — a boycott that aims to pressure the company to finalize a contract more than four years in the making. 

“I am not buying Starbucks, and you should not either,” Wilson stated at the time.

That small gesture seemed to signal that Seattle had elected a new kind of mayor. Her supporters saw what looked like immediate proof of the activist sheen Wilson wore throughout her campaign. But to her more conservative critics, her pledge to boycott the coffee giant seemed to confirm their suspicion that Wilson was some kind of inexperienced, unstrategic idealogue. Those same critics were quick to blame Wilson when Starbucks signed a lease for their new corporate office space in Nashville, Tennessee in March of this year.  

Even though it's a little dramatic to credit the mayor of three months for Starbucks expanding (not even fully departing) outside of its home for more than 50 years, Wilson still backpedaled. She told the New York Times last month that her remarks about the Starbucks boycott “were not productive in the sense that they caused more harm than good.” This retreat gave her critics a smug satisfaction and her supporters a sting of betrayal. 

And the blueberry muffin latte moment —- from the froo froo-ness of the drink, the not-quite-a-joke delivery, and FOX13’s editorial choice to not include the line about getting the drink while meeting with workers in their social media clip — was practically designed in a lab to piss everyone off. 

Wilson’s office did not respond when asked for more information about her broken boycott and the Pike Place Market visit —- I’m curious on a personal level if that blueberry muffin drink tasted any good. However, sources familiar with the situation backed up Wilson’s claim that she went to Starbucks to meet with unionizing workers, not just because she could no longer resist the temptation of a little treat. 

Similarly, King County Council Member Teresa Mosqueda, arguably the strongest labor champion in the state, also visited the Pike Place Market Starbucks in April, according to a post on social media. She posed with a drink from the store with the caption: “I dropped by today to show my support and let them know we’ve got their back. Without these workers, there is no coffee and no Starbucks. Solidarity!”

Sources familiar with the situation said SBWU asked elected officials to come to the store after baristas filed for their union election in early April (SBWU has since pulled the petition). The tactic seems a little counterintuitive considering the union’s “No Contract, No Coffee” campaign is still ongoing. Wilson’s office and the union did not confirm Wilson ordered a drink at the direction of SBWU in contradiction to the previous direction to boycott, but it is entirely possible that she was actually doing exactly what the union wanted and it still ended up looking like a betrayal. 

Still, Wilson is playing both sides more than her lefty base may wish. And they are keeping a watchful eye on Wilson to spot differences between what she said during her campaign and what she’s doing in office, particularly after her seeming switch up on surveillance. 

In her interview with Kim, Wilson argued that she’s working well with big business. She said her background in community organizing often put her at odds with corporations in the past, “however, [she’s] the mayor now.” Wilson has leaned on this argument before to hand-wave criticism that she kowtowed to the cops and conservatives on surveillance after taking office. But as a supposed “change” candidate, it seems counter to the campaign that won her the election to imply that the office changed her rather than the other way around. 

Wilson said in the FOX13 interview that the City faces problems “we can only solve together” so she believes she needs, and has fostered, a healthy working relationship with business interests. As evidence of this positive relationship, Wilson cited $3 million in philanthropic contributions from Starbucks, T-Mobile, Microsoft, and others that will help pay for a new tiny home village as part of her ambitious shelter plan. 

In any case, SBWU made it clear in their statement to The Burner that Wilson is not their enemy, the bosses are. 

“Starbucks has failed to finalize a fair union contract, remains the biggest federal labor law violator in modern history, and is turning its back on its hometown,” SBWU wrote in a statement. “Starbucks executives are betraying the city that fueled Starbucks’ rise and are instead turning to Tennessee’s right-wing Governor and taxpayer-funded giveaways in a transparent attempt to escape accountability here at home. 

 Besides, Wilson’s blueberry muffin latte isn’t the make or break in their efforts to pressure Starbucks. SBWU said baristas remain “undeterred” in their fight for a better future at Starbucks, a fight “strengthened by the solidarity” of more than 250,000 supporters, including organizations and elected officials, who have pledged to boycott Starbucks until the company agrees to a fair union contract.