Starbucks Red Cup Day strike hits Texas

The 2025 red cup design was drawn by Starbucks designer Yvonne Chan.

More than 1,000 Starbucks baristas at 65 unionized stores across the country went on strike Thursday, turning the company’s high-traffic Red Cup Day on Thursday, Nov. 13, into what organizers are calling a “Red Cup Rebellion.” Organizers say the strike is open-ended with no end date in sight.

In Texas, unionized workers at Starbucks stores in Denton, Dallas and Farmers Branch joined the strike over what they describe as chronic understaffing, low pay and unresolved unfair labor practice complaints.

No Austin locations were on Thursday’s strike list. But labor organizers note there are already two unionized Starbucks in the city — at 45th Street and North Lamar Boulevard and at 24th and Nueces Street — making Austin a likely candidate if the strike grows. Those stores became the first and second Starbucks in Texas to unionize in June 2022.

“Striking baristas are making three very clear demands: more take-home pay, better hours and staffing and fair treatment under the law,” Starbucks Workers United spokesperson and 15-year veteran barista Michelle Eisen said.

Where Texas Starbucks are striking

Starbucks Workers United, the union representing baristas at more than 550 company-owned stores, says the Red Cup Rebellion is an open-ended unfair labor practice strike that kicked off Thursday in more than 40 U.S. cities.

Among some of the locations participating are:

• Seattle (Starbucks’ headquarters location)
• New York
• San Diego
• Philadelphia

Union leaders say more stores are “prepared to continue escalating” and join the walkout if Starbucks does not offer new contract proposals.

“Starbucks’ failure to meet these demands are exactly why we are turning Red Cup Day into Red Cup Rebellion,” Eisen said.

Could Austin Starbucks be next?

Austin has been a symbolic hub for Starbucks’ union movement in Texas since workers at the 45th and Lamar cafe voted 10-1 to unionize in June 2022, becoming the first Starbucks in the state to do so.

A week later, the West Campus store at 24th and Nueces followed with a 10-2 union vote, making it the second unionized Starbucks in Austin and Texas.

Workers at those stores have previously joined national actions, including an earlier 2024 strike a few days before Christmas.

While those Austin stores had not joined Thursday’s open-ended strike yet, Starbucks Workers United says union locations nationwide are ready to expand the action if talks remain frozen.

“We are prepared to make this the largest strike in company history during [the] critical holiday season,” Eisen added.

What are Starbucks workers are demanding?

Union baristas say they want three core changes:

• More take-home pay. Many baristas start around $15 an hour and say they are not scheduled enough hours to cover basic living expenses.
• More hours and staffing. Workers say understaffing has led to long lines and wait times for customers, while many employees still do not hit the hours needed to qualify for benefits.
• Resolution of unfair labor practice cases. Administrative law judges with the National Labor Relations Board have found Starbucks committed hundreds of labor law violations, and more than 700 unfair labor practice charges remain unresolved, according to Workers United.

Union bargaining delegates and Starbucks met for months after national contract talks began in April 2024, notching dozens of tentative agreements. But the union says negotiations collapsed when Starbucks rejected its economic proposals last December and presented a counteroffer that did not raise wages in the first year or address staffing concerns.

Red Cup Day is one of Starbucks’ busiest annual promotions. Since 2018, the company has handed out free, reusable red holiday cups to customers who order a seasonal or holiday beverage.

This year’s Red Cup Day falls on Thursday, Nov. 13, and Starbucks has heavily promoted it as a kickoff to the holiday season, saying it added extra staff to “bring Red Cup Day to life” and get folks excited for the holidays.

Union organizers chose the day to maximize visibility. Turning what the company calls a “beloved tradition” into a "Red Cup Rebellion," they say, is meant to pressure Starbucks to return to the bargaining table with new proposals on pay, staffing and the backlog of unfair labor practice cases.