Update: Starbucks union targets Tri-Cities coffee shop with Red Cup Day strike
Workers United, which is working to unionize baristas at Starbucks stores nationwide, brought its Red Cup Rebellion to a Kennewick location Thursday morning.
Starting at 7 a.m., hosts from Red Cup Rebellion picketed on the sidewalk at the Starbucks at 7600 W. Clearwater Ave. to support workers and encourage customers to show solidarity with baristas.
It was the only Tri-Cities location affected and the picketers were gone by about 9 a.m.
In Washington, Starbucks’ home state, the union action coincided with Red Cup Day and affected 14 union stores in Seattle, Shoreline, Bellingham, Marysville, Everett, Olympia, Tumwater, Vancouver and Redmond and 36 non-union ones such as the one in Kennewick.
Workers United planned strikes at more than 200 stores that have voted to unionize, its largest strike ever, and pickets at even more non-union ones.
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 included turning off mobile ordering on future promotion days. Striking workers planned 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 was hosted by local home care workers represented by SEIU who waved picket signs along Clearwater Avenue until disbanding at about 9 a.m.
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.
This story was originally published November 15, 2023 at 5:00 AM.