Starbucks union plans Red Cup Day strike. 1 Tri-Cities store is targeted
Workers United, which is working to unionize baristas at Starbucks stores nationwide, will bring its Red Cup Rebellion to a Kennewick location Thursday.
Red Cup Rebellion is a nationwide strike against unionized stores as well as a protest at nonunion ones to draw attention to the heavy work burden posed by the Seattle coffee giant’s Red Cup Day promotion.
Workers United plans strikes at more than 200 stores that have voted to unionize, its largest strike ever.
The rebellion also includes sympathetic actions at nonunion stores such as the one in Kennewick.
From 7-10 a.m., hosts from Red Cup Rebellion will be at the Starbucks at 7600 W. Clearwater Ave. to support workers and encourage customers to show solidarity with workers. It is the only Tri-Cities location affected.
Bargaining demand
The union said the Red Cup Rebellion demands that Starbucks “stop illegally refusing to bargain with baristas over staffing, scheduling and other issues.”
Other demands include turning off mobile ordering on future promotion days. Striking workers plan to visit colleagues at nonunion stores to invite them to hold the company accountable to its employees.
On Red Cup Day, Starbucks gives out free, reusable cups, making it one of the busiest days of the year. A spokesman said that while it is a good day for Starbucks, it is a challenging one for workers.
Speaking on background, he likened it to Black Friday, when post-Thanksgiving sales draw crowds to retailers.
It described chaotic scenes that stress customers and workers alike in a written statement:
“On Red Cup Day, drink orders pile up and are abandoned, lines are out the door, and Starbucks workers are left to handle angry customers who have had to wait as much longer than usual for their beverages and food all while trying to make complicated holiday specialty beverages as fast as possible. When the supply of red cups runs out, customers get disappointed and often take their anger out on workers,” Workers United said.
Starbucks responds
In a statement, Starbucks said it is aware of the planned action and called on Workers United to work to negotiate contracts for those it represents, which it said it hasn’t done in more than four months.
“Despite escalating rhetoric and recurring rallies demanding a contract, Workers United hasn’t agreed to meet to progress contract bargaining in more than four months,” it said. “We again call on Workers United to fulfill their obligations and engage in the work of negotiating first contracts on behalf of the partners they represent. Starbucks remains ready to progress in-person negotiations with the unions certified to represent partners.”
Just one Starbucks in the greater Tri-Cities has voted to join Workers United, which is affiliated with Service Employees International Union.
Prosser workers reaffirmed their desire to be represented by a union on Nov. 9 after Starbucks challenged the results of an earlier vote in September to the National Labor Relations Board.
The Nov. 9 vote won’t be official until Red Cup Day, which happens to fall one week after the vote. Once accepted, contract talks can begin.
Kennewick store
The Kennewick rebellion event is being hosted by home care workers represented by SEIU.
Workers United did not identify the 200 stores nationwide that will be struck on Thursday, saying it does not want to tip off Starbucks.
To date, 23 Starbucks in Washington have voted to join the union and one voted no. Results are pending in three Washington locations, including Prosser. Nationally, 364 stores have voted to join the union and 82 have rejected it.
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