Unionized Starbucks' workers strike in Seattle, across the country

Dubbed the "Red Cup Rebellion," workers at Starbucks cafes in over 40 cities took to the picket lines Thursday, calling for higher pay and better staffing. The nationwide strike coincides with the company’s popular holiday Red Cup Day, one of the coffee giant’s busiest days of the year.

“They told us we could get a contract by the end of last year. We did not. They did not come to the bargaining table in good faith, so we rejected their offer,” said Emma Cox, a barista and union organizer at the Starbucks in the heart of Seattle’s University District.

Now, Cox said, the union is waiting on the company to continue contract negotiations.

Workers say pay and staffing are top priorities in this first contract. They also want to settle charges of unfair labor charges they’ve brought against Starbucks.

“I want to be able to live in this city, pay for groceries, go out on Saturday night,” Cox said. “I want to be able to enjoy the city that I live in, because right now I'm just working and sleeping and trying to budget my way through working at Starbucks.”

Starbucks Workers United, the union that represents the baristas, said in a statement that over a thousand unionized baristas are striking Thursday at 65 stores in over 40 cities.

“If Starbucks keeps stonewalling a fair contract and refusing to end union-busting, they’ll see their business grind to a halt,” said Michelle Eisen, union spokesperson who’s worked as a Starbucks barista for 15 years.

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But a company spokesperson told KUOW it’s the union that has walked away from the negotiating table and is delaying any new contract.

“We are disappointed that Workers United, who only represents around 4% of our partners, has voted to authorize a strike instead of returning to the bargaining table. When they’re ready to come back, we’re ready to talk,” Jaci Anderson, Starbucks's director of global communications, wrote in an email.

Anderson said people like working for the company, citing low turnover and over a million job applications a year.

“Any agreement needs to reflect the reality that Starbucks already offers the best job in retail, including more than $30 an hour on average in pay and benefits for hourly partners,” Anderson wrote.

On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, sent a letter to Starbucks’ CEO, urging the company to reach an agreement with striking baristas.

“I ask that Starbucks return to the table to negotiate in good faith, so that the workers at the 655 unionized stores, including 38 stores in Washington, can realize their first collective bargaining agreement,” Murray wrote.

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Baristas at the University District location said they never opened the store on Thursday and instead went straight to chanting and waving signs. Cox said in the first few hours they got support from neighbors who brought food and honked as they passed by in their cars.

Striking baristas and local union leaders plan to hold a rally at 4 p.m. on Thursday outside of the recently closed Starbucks Reserve Roastery on Capitol Hill.

Workers United announced Thursday morning they'll be joined by Seattle Mayor-elect Katie Wilson, who narrowly clinched the mayoral race this week with a pro-labor platform.

Anderson emphasized that the union represents only a small percentage of the whole workforce and an even smaller percentage would be striking on Thursday. Most Starbucks' cafes remain open and ready to hand out the popular Red Cups, Anderson wrote.

But Cox, the union organizer, said Thursday was only the start of something that promised to grow, if necessary.

“It may sound like a small number,” Cox said, “but we're not afraid to escalate. I’m excited for the company to see the ongoing strike as it continues to roll out, because this is just the beginning.”