NEW YORK — Starbucks Workers United says more than 3,800 baristas have walked off the job since Nov. 13, growing a strike across more than 180 stores in over 130 U.S. cities as the union pushes Starbucks to sign its first collective bargaining agreement, Dec. 16, 2025.
The open-ended action — timed to the company’s high-traffic Red Cup Day promotion and now stretching into the holiday rush — has become the longest sustained, multi-city labor stoppage Starbucks has faced, according to reporting and statements from both sides.
While the walkout involves only a fraction of Starbucks locations, it’s unfolding against a bigger milestone: the union says it represents about 11,000 baristas at more than 550 active stores, yet none of those stores has a first contract nearly four years after the organizing campaign began.
Starbucks disputes the strike’s operational impact. A company spokesperson, Jaci Anderson, said, “Fewer than 1% of our 17,000 U.S. coffeehouses have been affected at any point by the union’s efforts.”
Why the Starbucks union is betting on a long holiday strike
The union is framing this moment as a pressure test — for Starbucks’ new leadership, its turnaround strategy and a bargaining process that workers say has dragged on without a deal.
Workers say the stakes are concrete and immediate: staffing levels, scheduling and take-home pay. The union is also linking its strike demands to a growing backlog of labor disputes, including unfair labor practice allegations and what it calls retaliation and union-busting — claims Starbucks has repeatedly denied.
In a statement describing the open-ended walkout, the union said baristas are “prepared to make this the largest and longest strike in company history” during Starbucks’ busiest season.
What baristas say they want in a first contract
In interviews and union updates, baristas have consistently emphasized day-to-day working conditions, including store staffing and the pace and pressure of promotions. In one widely shared line, a Buffalo-based strike captain told the AP: “Our fight is about actually making Starbucks jobs the best jobs in retail.”
Across recent strike updates, union leaders have pointed to recurring themes:
More staffing and steadier scheduling to handle spikes in traffic — especially during promotions and holiday rush periods.
Higher wages and more predictable hours that workers say are necessary to qualify for and keep benefits.
Resolution of labor disputes tied to alleged unfair labor practices and discipline at union stores.
What Starbucks says about bargaining and operations
Starbucks says it has continued investing in stores and benefits while urging the union to return to negotiations. In a Nov. 5 message to employees, Chief Partner Officer Sara Kelly wrote that the company and union had reached “more than 30 tentative agreements” and said, “Workers United walked away from the table but if they are ready to come back, we’re ready to talk.”
In the same message, Starbucks said it employs more than 240,000 U.S. workers in over 10,000 company-operated coffeehouses, and said nearly 7,000 licensed locations will remain open during labor actions. Starbucks also cited a $500 million investment in staffing-related hours and described its pay and benefits as averaging $30 per hour for hourly workers.
How negotiations reached this standoff
Both sides point to a breakdown in momentum after earlier signs of progress. Starbucks and Workers United announced a “framework” in early 2024 aimed at guiding organizing and contract bargaining — an unusual détente after years of clashes. But by late 2025, the union says progress has stalled, and Starbucks argues the union has rejected proposals and walked away from the table.
In practical terms, that leaves a familiar gap: hundreds of stores with union votes, ongoing legal disputes, and no finalized contract.
What’s next for the strike and customers
The strike remains fluid, with participation varying by city and week. Starbucks says most stores are operating normally. The union says it will keep escalating until Starbucks puts forward proposals it views as serious and contract-ready.
For customers, the biggest near-term question is uneven disruption: some stores may shorten hours, pause mobile ordering or face temporary closures depending on staffing and local participation — even as the company says the vast majority of locations are open.
Continuity: the long road from Buffalo to today
The current strike did not come out of nowhere. The organizing drive began with the first successful union vote at a company-operated store in Buffalo in late 2021, and it has since rolled through hundreds of locations nationwide. Along the way, there have been pivotal flashpoints — including a 64-day strike outside Boston in 2022 that was widely described at the time as Starbucks’ longest single-store walkout.
And in early 2024, the company and union publicly outlined a path toward a bargaining framework — a moment that suggested a first contract might finally be within reach. The latest walkout underscores how far apart the sides remain.
