Friday, November 14, 2025 -More than 1,000 Starbucks baristas across 65 stores in over 40 U.S. cities have launched an open-ended strike, timed to coincide with “Red Cup Day,” one of Starbucks’ biggest promotional sales events of the year.
The walkout, organized by Starbucks Workers United, is part of a renewed push for a collective bargaining agreement, with workers demanding better pay, more staffing, and an end to what they call unfair labor practices.
Unionized employees argue that Starbucks’ staffing levels are chronically low, especially on high-volume days like Red Cup Day, which they say leads to unsafe working conditions and unmanageable workloads.
Some strikers are also calling for Starbucks to disable mobile ordering during such big promotions, claiming it floods stores with orders they can't properly handle.
Starbucks, for its part, says the action affects only a small fraction of its U.S. locations and remains ready to return to the bargaining table.
But union leaders are calling on customers to “do not buy at Starbucks while workers are on strike,” as part of their “No Contract, No Coffee” campaign, aiming to pressure the company during one of its most profitable days.
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