Cheers to the Red Cup Rebellion!

(raise your glass of anything-but-starbucks-coffee)

Today marks the start of a nationwide strike of Starbucks Workers United (SBWU), and educators around the country are raising mugs of home-brewed coffee in solidarity.

For years the union has reported on stalled negotiations, abhorrent union-busting tactics, and abysmal working conditions, all while their CEO commutes by private jet, and raked in $96,000,000 for working 120 days in 2024.

Despite the company spending $240,000,000 on union-busting lawfirms, the workers have organized themselves to the picket line on Starbucks’ most profitable time: the launch of their iconic holiday Red Cup Day.

Unionized workers need to not only stand together in solidarity and hold strong picket lines, but SBWU members have an awful lot in common with educators, as CORE reported in our August edition of The Member Action Tea. These conditions include (but aren’t limited to) work environments over 80 degrees, being sick from stress on the job, skyrocketing medical coverage costs, and severe understaffing.

Central Ohio is a concentrated area of unionized Starbucks locations, and they’re kicking the strike off with a rally at 4pm at their store on West 5th ave in Columbus. Though most educators are still in the classroom until at least 3:30, you can donate to their strike fund, sign their pledge, or easiest of all: stop buying Starbucks until they get their contract!