Red Cup clapback: Pa. Starbucks workers to strike

Starbucks employees in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Lancaster plan to rally in support of the Red Cup Day strike on Thursday.

Starbucks baristas from across Pennsylvania, and the country, are kicking off the coffee company’s holiday season with a one-day strike on Thursday, which coincides with its annual “Red Cup Day.”

According to the Associated Press, Red Cup Day is one of Starbucks’ busiest days of the year, when it distributes free, reusable red coffee cups to customers. 

Starbucks Workers United, which represents more than 14,000 Starbucks employees in roughly 655 locations across the country, is demanding bolstered employment numbers and better hours to combat understaffing and longer wait times, higher wages and a resolution for some of the company’s 700 unfair labor practices. 

“Union baristas mean business and are ready to do whatever it takes to win a fair contract and end Starbucks’ unfair labor practices,” Michelle Eisen, Starbucks Workers United spokesperson and a 15-year veteran barista, said in a statement. 

“We want Starbucks to succeed, but turning the company around and bringing customers back begins with listening to and supporting the baristas who are responsible for the Starbucks experience. If Starbucks keeps stonewalling, they should expect to see their business grind to a halt. The ball is in Starbucks’ court.”

The Keystone reported in 2023 that Starbucks was blocking credit card tips at unionized locations in Philadelphia as a way to punish workers. More Perfect Union noted at the time that such a response was one of the many federal labor law violations the company committed in order to stop unionization efforts. 

Starbucks workers held a “Red Cup Rebellion” in 2023 and went on during the holiday season in 2024, forcing  200 stores to close on Christmas Eve.

There are 45 unionized Starbucks locations in Pennsylvania, majority located in the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas, with other union stores located in or around Northeastern Pennsylvania, Reading, Allentown, and Lancaster. 

Rallies to stand in solidarity with Starbucks baristas are planned for 4 pm on Thursday in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Lancaster. 

A recent report from the AFL-CIO tracking CEO pay across the country found that Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol earns 6,666 times more than the average Starbucks employee. According to the AFL-CIO, “high CEO-to-worker pay ratios contribute to economic inequality” and “undermine employee morale and productivity.”

“Our fight is about actually making Starbucks jobs the best jobs in retail. Right now, it’s only the best job in retail for Brian Niccol,” Jasmine Leli, a 3-year Starbucks barista and strike captain from Buffalo, NY, said in a statement. “Things have only gone backwards at Starbucks under Niccol’s leadership, but a fair union contract and the resolution of hundreds of unfair labor practice charges are essential to the company’s turnaround.”