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Starbucks Red Cup Day, employees set off a mass strike

Published: 2026-08-23 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2026/08/23, Daily boutique Coffee Culture Magazine Coffee Workshop according to ABC News on November 16, thousands of employees at more than 200 Starbucks stores across the United States went on strike on Thursday. Organizers said it was the largest strike since the Starbucks workers' union was founded. It is understood that

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Thousands of employees at more than 200 Starbucks stores across the United States went on strike on Thursday, ABC News reported on Nov. 16. Organizers said it was the largest strike since the Starbucks workers' union was founded.

It is understood that the organizer of the large-scale strike is the Starbucks Workers' Union (SWU), which was established at the end of last year, which is affiliated to the International Service Trade Union (SEIU, Service Employees International Union). Nearly 380 Starbucks employees at 14 stores in nine cities west of Washington chose to go on strike on Thursday, the workers' union said.

The reason for the strike is that November 16th is Starbucks' annual Red Cup Day (Red Cup Day).

On this day, at all Starbucks stores in North America, customers can get a reusable cup for free as long as they consume a drink. And as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, it is basically one of Starbucks' most ordered days of the year. Employees choose this day to go on strike in order to get around the business as much as possible, and at the same time, they can also take advantage of the heat of public opinion to increase the exposure of the incident. Starbucks called it Red Cup Day, and workers correspondingly called the strike the Red Cup Rebellion (Red Cup Rebelion).

The union says more than 5000 employees are expected to take part in their "Red Cup Rebellion". The workers marched for a certain period of time and then visited non-union shops the rest of the time. About 30 stores also went on strike on Wednesday, the day before the Red Cup.

Baristas who took part in the strike also complained to Starbucks in an interview that "two baristas need to produce 221 drinks within half an hour, and consumers have to wait at least an hour to pick up a meal," according to CCTV financial reports. "the company launched a special offer, but did not inform the store in advance, while the order doubled, the staff did not increase, which made angry customers point the finger at us."

As for the reasons for the strike, the barista added, "Starbucks has made it clear that it will not listen to workers, so we speak for ourselves through strikes."

On the 16th, dozens of employees chanted "No Contract No Coffee (no contract, no coffee)" outside the Starbucks Astor Square (Astor Place) store on New York University campus. At the same time, Astor Square is crowded with teachers and students waiting in line to spend.

Thursday's Red Cup Day strike is reported to be the fifth large-scale labor action launched by employees since a store in Buffalo, New York, became the first Starbucks to unionize in late 2021. Last year, workers at 110 stores also went on strike on Red Cup Day, the most recent in June, after reports that Starbucks had removed "Pride" displays from its stores.

Starbucks employs 235000 people and has more than 9, 000 coffee shops in the United States. At present, only 363 trade unions have been formed, while only more than 200 have taken part in the strike. In addition, many of the stores that took part in the strike are not closed, but are still in operation because Starbucks has deployed managers and other employees to replace the vacancies in the strike stores. And the strike lasted only one day. So, on the business side, the strike has had little impact on Starbucks. It is the public opinion that is mainly affected. The employees hope to arouse the sympathy of public opinion through this strike.

In response, Starbucks officials also issued an emergency statement on Thursday, saying that for more than five months, the workers' union refused to arrange negotiation meetings. "Starbucks is still committed to improving the experience of its partners." build a bridge to a better future for everyone who wears a green apron. "

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