Baristas at more than 100 Starbucks coffee shops nationwide began an unfair labor practice strike Thursday, the brand’s Red Cup Day, to address concerns the company has understaffed stores and failed to bargain with employees who voted for union representation.
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During Starbucks’ holiday event, the company hands out red cups with the coffee conglomerate’s logo on the front. As part of their strike, unionized workers are handing out their version of a red cup, which displays the Grinch’s hand holding an ornament with the Starbucks Workers United logo.
In a statement on Thursday, Starbucks Workers United said unionized workers are striking to put pressure on the company to enter negotiations for a first contract. Workers also cited being forced to run “perpetually understaffed” shops and “given inconsistent schedules.”
“Starbucks partners are demanding the company meet them at the bargaining table to create improved standards in staffing and scheduling, along with a host of other bargaining proposals that have been crafted by partner leaders across the country,” according to the campaigns’ statements.
Emily Schule, a Starbucks barista in Massachusetts, said in a statement that Red Cup Day is “notoriously difficult on baristas and notoriously profitable” for the coffee giant. A strike on Red Cup Day opens the door for conversations with customers about the necessity of unions and how they can effectively support the workers, Schule claimed.
States that also have stores striking include Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, according to the union.
A spokesperson for Starbucks sad in a statement Thursday that the company was aware of “a small number” of demonstrations across the country and fully respects workers right to lawfully protest.
“In those stores where partners have elected union representation, we have been willing and continue to urge the union to meet us at the bargaining table to move the process forward in good faith,” the spokesperson stated.
The union and coffee chain have been battling in unfair labor practice suits at the National Labor Relations Board for over a year.
Workers United has accused Starbucks of unlawfully firing workers, stalling bargaining and discouraging employees from organizing.
The union has seen some success, with a federal judge ordering the company to rehire seven fired workers in Tennessee, as part of the NLRB general counsel’s request for a temporary injunction. However, NLRB prosecutors also lost an injunction case seeking reinstatement for workers in Arizona federal court over the summer.
Starbucks has several times accused NLRB regional offices of colluding with the union during representation elections.
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