Santa Cruz Starbucks Workers Picket at Mission Street Store as Nationwide Strike Begins

Workers at the rally said there were service disruptions at multiple Starbucks stores in Santa Cruz County due to union members' participation in the strike.

A paper flyer taped to the front door of the Mission Street store read, "Our Store is Temporarily Closed." It informed customers that the business was, "working to re-open our store as quickly as possible."

Striking workers have stated that Starbucks management has been stonewalling them for over six months, and has not put forth any new proposals to meet the union's demands.

The spirited rally was attended by members of a variety of Santa Cruz area unions and labor organizations, in addition to community allies. Speakers included Assemblymember Gail Pellerin.

Starbucks workers and supporters held picket signs with messages such as "No Contract, No Coffee," "Don't Cross Our Picket Line," and "Red Cup Rebellion." For several years, SBWU union members have organized "Red Cup Rebellion" protests on Starbucks' annual Red Cup Day, when the company offers customers a free, reusable red cup if they purchase certain holiday drinks. This year, Red Cup Day was November 13, hence the reason for that date being the first day of the strike.

Presently, there are five unionized Starbucks stores in Santa Cruz County. In May of 2022, the Mission Street store and the Ocean Street store were the first two Starbucks locations in California to unionize. The Ocean Street store, however, was shuttered on September 27 of this year when Starbucks suddenly and unexpectedly closed approximately 1% of its stores that the company said were underperforming for various reasons.


To support striking Starbucks workers, see:
* Starbucks Workers United website: https://sbworkersunited.org/
* No Contract, No Coffee (SBWU strike website): https://www.nocontractnocoffee.org/