Thousands of unionized Starbucks workers at more than 100 locations across the United States are walking off the job Thursday to protest the coffee giant’s refusal to engage in good-faith negotiations with stores that have voted to organize.
Workers United, the union representing thousands of Starbucks employees, dubbed the nationwide day of action the “Red Cup Rebellion,” a pro-labor counter to Starbucks’ annual “Red Cup Day.”
As Starbucks gives away free reusable cups to customers to mark the holiday season, striking employees nationwide are handing out Starbucks Workers United-branded cups to build public awareness of the union drive and spotlight the company’s aggressive and unlawful efforts to crush it.
“Whether it’s firing one of my coworkers for wearing a suicide awareness pin, how they’ve closed down a dozen locations in the process of unionizing, or how we’re being denied benefits that non-union stores are getting, Starbucks has left behind the very values that drew many of us to the company in the first place,” Michelle Eisen, a Buffalo Starbucks worker, said in a statement.
In a press release, Starbucks Workers United called Thursday’s walkouts “the biggest coordinated national action taken by union Starbucks stores in the campaign’s history,” with at least 112 locations in dozens of cities taking part.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) expressed solidarity with the thousands of Starbucks employees who are walking off the job Thursday, writing on social media that “CEO Howard Schultz is illegally union busting and firing workers for organizing.”
Originally published at Commondreams.org.