Teamsters give major show of solidarity amid ongoing Starbucks strike
Newport Beach, California - Unionized Starbucks workers took their nationwide strike to the corporate offices in Newport Beach this week as they demanded the coffee company negotiate a fair contract with employees.
Starbucks workers and supporters marched and rallied outside the California office of CEO Brian Niccol as they accused the company of failing to meet workers' core demands, such as better hours to improve staffing in stores, higher take-home pay, and the resolution of charges stemming from union busting.
They were backed by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union, whose members include truck drivers, garbage pickup workers, and workers in many other sectors.
"[Starbucks stores] won't get their food, they won't get their packages delivered to them, they won't get their trash picked up because the Teamsters are standing with you," Teamsters Joint Council 42 President Victor Mineros told the crowd.
"As a joint council, we have sanctioned this strike, so our members know and understand that they will respect your lines. They will stand in solidarity with you," Mineros continued.
"The [Teamsters'] General President Sean O'Brien has sanctioned this strike too, so he stands with you in Washington DC and throughout the country."
Starbucks Workers United launches Red Cup Rebellion
Starbucks Workers United members kicked off their open-ended Red Cup Rebellion strike on November 13.
Union members overwhelmingly voted to authorize the strike to start on Red Cup Day – the coffee chain's biggest sales promotion of the year in which it hands out reusable cups with certain purchases.
Starbucks' previous CEO Laxman Narasimhan vowed to bargain with unionized workers and reach contract agreements by the end of last year, but negotiations have stalled under Niccol, who took over in September 2024.
In April, elected union delegates overwhelmingly rejected a proposal which they said failed to improve wages or benefits in the first year of the contract or to address concerns around chronic understaffing.
The company announced in September it would close hundreds of stores and lay off nearly 1,000 employees as part of a $1-billion restructuring plan.
Niccol received around $96 million in total compensation in 2024 after just four months on the job, as workers continue to struggle for a fair contract.
The union is asking supporters not to make any Starbucks purchases in solidarity with their strike action.
Cover photo: REUTERS