Today is Starbucks Red Cup Day—one of the busiest days of the year for Starbucks. The annual event unofficially kicks off the holiday coffee season and sees Starbucks giving away a free reusable red holiday cup to anyone who orders a holiday drink.
But if you go by a Starbucks today, you may see more than red cups. That’s because Starbucks workers across the nation are striking in an organized event dubbed the Red Cup Rebellion.
The strikes are organized by Starbucks Workers United, a collective of workers who are helping Starbucks stores unionize in an effort to get better pay, benefits, and working conditions for baristas across the country. Starbucks Workers United says there are currently more than 360 unionized Starbucks in the country, but it aims to grow that number.
Among the list of proposals that Starbucks Workers United is working for is a fairer wage system, including a base pay of $20 per hour for all baristas, with that wage fairly increased for those in areas with higher costs of living, as well as annual raises of 5% and cost-of-living adjustments.
Starbucks Workers United says that Red Cup Day is one of the hardest days for Starbucks workers and it is also generally understaffed, which is why it’s holding its Red Cup Rebellion today to highlight the conditions baristas face.
But in addition to union members who are striking, Starbucks Workers United this year is asking both workers at nonunion stores and Starbucks customers to stand with them at protests outside stores across the country.
If you would like to join in a show of your solidarity with striking Starbucks employees, you can use Starbucks Workers United’s online tool to find strike events outside of Starbucks stores in your area. Supporters can meet outside the stores with banners and signs to engage Red Cup Day customers in discussions on why unionization is in the interest of Starbucks employees.
Around 250 solidarity events are scheduled outside Starbucks locations across the country.
In addition to facing protests on Red Cup Day, Starbucks is also seeing pushback from college students, who are demanding that their schools cut ties with the coffee giant to show solidarity with Starbucks workers.
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