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Unionized Starbucks workers are walking off the job on Thursday after their labor group authorized a strike as they

is calling the strike the "red cup rebellion," since it coincides with the coffee chain's annual Red Cup Day promotion, when it gives away free reusable holiday cups at its retail locations. Starbucks Workers United, which represents more than 9,500 baristas across 550 Starbucks cafes, is asking for better pay, increased staffing and a resolution of labor disputes. 

The strike will start with more than 65 stores in over 40 cities across the country, the union said, noting that the labor action has no prescribed end date. 

"There are already stores that have been shut down for the day, and we anticipate there to be dozens more that have to shut down today as well," Starbucks Workers United spokesperson Michelle Eisen, who has worked as a barista at Starbucks for 15 years, said during a press call Thursday morning.

Workers United said it is prepared to escalate the strike if Starbucks does not deliver a contract and "resolve unfair labor practice charges."

"If Starbucks keeps stonewalling a fair contract and refusing to end union-busting, they'll see their business grind to a halt," Eisen said in a statement. "No contract, no coffee is more than a tagline — it's a pledge to interrupt Starbucks operations and profits until a fair union contract and an end to unfair labor practices are won."

Starbucks spokesperson Jaci Anderson said the company is seeing "minimal impacts" on Thursday morning across its more than 17,000 U.S. coffeehouses. Less than 1% of the company's stores are impacted by the strike, she noted.

In October,  told "" that the company has "the best benefits" and "the best wages" in the industry.

"What their requests to date have been, has been unreasonable," Niccol said. "We're willing to, you know, negotiate and have 'em come back to the table and find a solution." 

Starbucks said it offers the equivalent of $30 an hour in pay and employee benefits. However, Workers United claims that many workers aren't getting enough hours to qualify for benefits. The union told Autos News that the starting wage for baristas is $15.25 in a majority of states.

"The reality is I make $17 an hour, and I live paycheck to paycheck," said Starbucks barista and Chicago resident Diego Franco. "I can't sustain myself on that. I can't sustain my mom's medical bills."

Starbucks Workers United announced last week that its members had , with 92% of members backing a work stoppage.

"We are disappointed that Workers United, who only represents around 4% of our partners, has voted to authorize a strike instead of returning to the bargaining table," Anderson told Autos News in a statement at the time. "When they're ready to come back, we're ready to talk."

Contract talks between Starbucks and Workers United began in April 2024 but fell apart in December. The union says it has secured 33 tentative agreements from Starbucks, but maintains that the vast majority are non-economic proposals. 

Sharon Block, a professor at Harvard Law School, told Autos News the fitful contract negotiations between Starbucks and its organized workforce highlight the weakness of federal labor law in bringing employers to the bargaining table. 

"The law just seems to be incapable of ensuring a fair playing field for these workers who take big risks," added Block, a former official in the federal Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs during the Biden administration.

The strike marks the union's third national work stoppage in the past year. Workers United last , and thousands also .

Here's where Workers United said baristas are planning to strike.