admin 
Protesters picket outside a Starbucks, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025, in Philadelphia (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
There is no date set for the strike to end and more stores are prepared to join, organizers said
Dee-Ann Durbin
Thursday 20 November 2025 11:29 EST
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Thirty more Starbucks stores across the nation are joining a strike against the coffee giant.
Starbucks Workers United said baristas from 30 more stores in 25 U.S. cities planned to join the strike Thursday, including stores in Cleveland; Memphis, Tennessee; Springfield, Missouri, and Albany, New York.
That brings the total number of stores with striking workers to 95 in 65 cities, the union said.
The strike began last Thursday on Starbucks’ Red Cup Day, which is typically one of its busiest days of the year. Since 2018, Starbucks has given out free, reusable cups on that day to customers who buy a holiday drink.
Starbucks said the strike has caused minimal disruption to its operations, and noted that this year’s Red Cup Day was the strongest in the company’s history in terms of sales and store traffic. Placer.ai, a location data company, said Starbucks’ foot traffic jumped 44.5% last Thursday compared to this year’s daily average.
Starbucks said only 49 of the 65 stores that the union vowed to strike last week experienced any disruption, and 29 of those have reopened.
Around 550 of Starbucks’ 10,000 company-owned U.S. stores are unionized. Starbucks also has 7,000 licensed locations in places like airports.
“As we’ve said, 99% of our 17,000 U.S. locations remain open and welcoming customers, including many the union publicly stated would strike but never closed or have since reopened,” Starbucks spokeswoman Jaci Anderson said.
Striking workers are protesting a lack of progress in labor negotiations with the company. They say they are seeking better pay, improved staffing in stores and a resolution of hundreds of unfair labor practice charges filed against the company.
There is no date set for the strike to end, and more stores are prepared to join if Starbucks doesn’t reach a contract agreement with the union, organizers said.
Starbucks said it is prepared to talk when the union is ready to return to the bargaining table. Negotiations between the two sides ended in April.
Original:
https://www.the-independent.com/us/money/starbucks-strike-stores-workers-red-cup-rebellion-b2869273.html
