Hundreds of New Union Starbucks Baristas in 34 Cities Join Historic Red Cup Rebellion

NATIONWIDE, December 11, 2025 – The Red Cup Rebellion unfair labor practice (ULP) strike grew to over 3,800 baristas in 180+ stores across 130+ cities Thursday as the largest wave yet of union baristas walked off the job to protest Starbucks’ historic union busting and failure to finalize a fair union contract. The historic ULP strike is the largest nationwide work stoppage in the company’s history, with 36 new stores in 34 cities joining their coworkers already out on strike. Baristas’ ULP strike began on Red Cup Day, November 13 and has grown each week since.

“Baristas like me shouldn’t be worrying about making rent or whether we’ll qualify for healthcare coverage, especially in the holiday season,” said Zarian Antonio Pouncy (he/him), a barista of 12 years from Las Vegas who walked off the job on Thursday. “I’m proud to join this historic ULP strike because baristas make the Starbucks experience what it is, and we deserve better. We need Starbucks to end the illegal union busting, and we need a fair contract with fair pay, reliable hours, and on-the-job protections. Until then, the message from baristas and our allies across the U.S. and beyond is clear: No Contract, No Coffee!”

Union stores in the following cities joined the ongoing open-ended ULP strike on Thursday: Tucson, Ariz.; Antioch, Calif.; Encinitas, Calif.; Van Nuys, Calif.; Denver, Colo.; Danbury, Conn.; West Hartford, Conn.; Clearwater, Fla.; Oviedo, Fla.; Champaign, Ill.; Elizabethtown, Ky.; River Ridge, La.; Westford, Mass.; Baltimore, Md.; College Park, Md.; Bloomington, Minn.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Wilmington, N.C.; Las Vegas, Nev.; Cleveland Heights, Ohio; Upper Arlington, Ohio; Norman, Okla.; Eugene, Ore.; Hillsboro, Ore.; Portland, Ore.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Providence, R.I.; Austin, Texas; Cross Roads, Texas; Harrisonburg, Va.; Springfield, Va.; Seattle, Wash.; Madison, Wis.; and Sutton, W.Va.

For a complete list of cities where workers are striking, see this Interested Parties Memo from Workers United: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1U3XneCeP5w4whDoHF4Vanv5Ju9r09N5M1fiIMnNvMFA/

For a map of public picket lines and actions near you, visit NoContractNoCoffee.org.

Union baristas’ Red Cup Rebellion escalations surged across the nation this week as striking union Starbucks baristas were joined by local labor leaders and community allies in a powerful rally on Wednesday outside Starbucks’ Chicago Reserve Roastery, the company’s largest store in the world, to kick off a 48-hour Downtown Throwdown, where union baristas and allies will continuously picket for two days straight at Starbucks locations throughout downtown Chicago to protest Starbucks’ union busting and failure to finalize a fair union contract. Ahead of the rally, Starbucks shut down the store, with the plan to keep it closed for the duration of baristas’ action.

Power of the Strike: Red Cup Rebellion Goes Worldwide As Solidarity Soars for Striking Baristas

Support for union baristas’ nationwide ULP strike has surged worldwide as the Red Cup Rebellion nears its one-month mark. On Wednesday, hundreds of Starbucks baristas and union allies in 17 cities across 14 countries come out in support of the Red Cup Rebellion, holding demonstrations outside cafes and corporate offices around the world to call out corporate greed, condemn Starbucks’ historic union busting and demand the company settle a fair contract with its union baristas.

“No Contract, No Coffee” echoed through the streets as solidarity actions supporting striking U.S. Starbucks workers took place in Melbourne, Australia; Brussels, Belgium; Brasília, Brazil; São Paulo, Brazil; Toronto, Canada; Milan, Italy; London, England; Norwich, England; Paris, France; Yogyakarta, Indonesia; Amsterdam, Netherlands; Munich, Germany; Glasgow, Scotland; Bern, Switzerland; Zurich, Switzerland; Chiang Mai, Thailand; and Istanbul, Turkey.


https://sbworkersunited.org/in-largest-expansion-yet-hundreds-of-new-union-starbucks-baristas-in-34-cities-join-historic-red-cup-rebellion-as-ulp-strike-sweeps-nation/