Topline
The Starbucks Workers United escalated its “Red Cup Rebellion” strike over unfair labor practices on Black Friday, announcing that 120 stores in 85 cities had joined the effort, while Starbucks claims fewer than half that number were impacted and that the strike has caused minimal disruption over the last three weeks.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 13: Starbucks workers walk a picket line as they go on strike outside a Starbucks store on November 13, 2025 in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough in New York City. According to the Starbucks Workers United (SWU), the union representing the workers, more than 1,000 Starbucks workers have gone on strike at about 65 stores across the country. Union members state that Starbucks failed to make new proposals on issues like staffing and pay since the labor group rejected a company offer in April. Workers are also seeking to resolve allegations of illegal labor practices, including claims of retaliation targeting union members. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
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Key Facts
Since calling the strike on November 13, the company’s highly trafficked “Red Cup Day” when it gives away free reusable coffee cups to customers, Starbucks Workers United reports new stores have been added to its strike list each passing week, now totaling 120 stores.
SWU claims that baristas in 550 unionized stores are prepared to continue escalating the strike until Starbucks delivers a fair union contract and resolves hundreds of unfair labor practices charges.
Since the strike began, Starbucks has disputed the number of stores impacted, claiming many stores on the strike list never closed and others have since reopened.
Despite more than 125,000 people who’ve signed the “No Contract, No Coffee” pledge, Starbucks reported this year’s “Red Cup Day” was its biggest sales day in company history.
Currently, the two parties are not negotiating, after spending nearly 200 hours in negotiations and reaching more than 30 tentative agreements, through April this year.
Key Background
Three weeks in, Starbucks and the union are locked in a standoff that shows no sign of abating. SWU says 2,500 of the union’s 11,000 members are currently on strike. However, the company claims only about 9,500 baristas, or 4% of company employees in fewer than 1% of its 10,000 company-operated stores, belong to the union and that only 55 stores were impacted by the Black Friday walkout. Further, more than half of the stores originally closed due to the strike have reopened.