Major Starbucks Strike Disrupts Key Holiday Promotion
Unionized Starbucks employees are launching a significant wave of walkouts across the United States on Thursday, November 13, 2025, targeting one of the coffee chain's most profitable promotional days. The coordinated action, which organizers say could become their largest strike to date, involves workers walking off the job in at least 40 cities during the annual Red Cup Day event.
Scale and Scope of the Labor Action
According to Workers United, the union representing employees at approximately 550 company-owned Starbucks locations, more than 1,000 baristas at 65 cafes plan to participate in the work stoppage. The protests are strategically timed to coincide with Starbucks' popular holiday promotion where the company gives away reusable red cups, typically drawing massive crowds and generating substantial revenue.
Key cities affected include New York City, Dallas, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, and Starbucks' hometown of Seattle. The union has described these walkouts as open-ended, meaning they could expand to additional locations if there isn't meaningful progress toward finalizing a union contract and resolving ongoing legal disputes between the workers and the corporation.
Background of the Labor Dispute
This escalation marks the latest chapter in a prolonged battle that began when Starbucks employees first started voting to unionize in late 2021. Despite nearly four years of organizing efforts, workers have yet to secure their first collective bargaining agreement with the coffee giant.
Jasmine Leli, a barista from Buffalo, New York, who serves as one of the union's negotiation delegates, emphasized the workers' determination in an interview last week. "We're prepared to do whatever it takes," Leli stated. "Starbucks not finalizing this union contract is failing its baristas and customers alike."
In April 2025, Workers United delegates voted to reject Starbucks' most recent contract proposal, which organizers criticized for offering only guaranteed annual raises of at least 2% and failing to ensure employees would receive sufficient work hours to qualify for benefits.
Corporate Response and Counterclaims
Starbucks has firmly denied any wrongdoing in the labor dispute. Company spokesperson Jaci Anderson responded to the strike announcement on Wednesday, expressing disappointment that "Workers United has called a strike instead of returning to the bargaining table."
Anderson asserted that "nearly all" of Starbucks' cafes would remain operational despite the labor action and would be prepared to serve customers. The company maintains that it already provides "the best job in retail," citing average barista pay of over $19 per hour and total compensation exceeding $30 hourly when accounting for benefits.
Starbucks has additionally accused the union of abandoning negotiations, creating a stalemate that has prevented resolution of the longstanding contract dispute. Meanwhile, the union contends that the company has refused to engage in fair bargaining practices, prompting this dramatic escalation during one of Starbucks' busiest promotional days of the year.
