Starbucks Workers Are On Strike!

Your Iced Sugar Cookie Latte is going to have to wait. Thursday morning, Starbucks’ baristas went on strike and they won’t be back to business as usual until the company comes back to the table and finalizes a fair union contract with Starbucks Workers United (SWU). Until then, workers ask customers to find a new regular coffee spot — workers are “prepared for this to become the biggest and longest strike in Starbucks history.”

According to SWU, workers have waited “nearly a year” for Starbucks to offer a proposal to shore up their long-awaited union contract. After months of demanding that Starbucks bosses raise wages, improve staffing, and resolve hundreds of unfair labor practice charges, SWU baristas voted 92% to authorize an open-ended strike. And they waited for this day in specific. Thursday is “Red Cup Day,” an annual, promotional day that not only kicks off the busy holiday season, but brings in a fuck ton of money for the company. 

SWU is calling on Starbucks customers to boycott the chain until the strike ends. This is particularly important as Starbucks has made it incredibly difficult for workers to organize, so many stores will carry on and it will be up to the consumer to make sure Starbucks feels this action in their pockets. 

To sign the “No Contract? No Coffee” pledge and find a picket line near you, click here.