"Striking Starbucks workers walk the picket line in New York City, on December 1, 2025.ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images Thousands of Starbucks workers across a hundred cities are nearly one month into an expanding, nationwide unfair labor practice strike in protest of the coffee giant's "historic union busting and failure to finalize a fair union contract," according to Starbucks Workers United, the barista union that has spread to over 650 stores since its birth in Buffalo four years ago."
"The strike comes after years of illegal anti-union antics by Starbucks and follows a historic $39 million settlement announced on December 1 for more than 500,000 labor violations committed by Starbucks management in New York City since 2021. The rise of Starbucks Workers United has energized the U.S. labor movement, as the struggle to unionize the mega-chain represents far more than baristas pitted against managers: Starbucks is a trend-setting global powerhouse and one of the top U.S. employers."
"This is well understood by industry leaders, in no small part because of Starbucks's deep interlocks with major corporations across numerous sectors. At its highest levels of governance and management, Starbucks's closest industry ally may be Walmart, the top U.S. corporate employer and a long-time anti-union stalwart. Starbucks and Walmart, along with other corporations represented on Starbucks's board of directors, also support major industry groups that carry out the retail and service sectors' wider agenda of weakening unions."
Thousands of Starbucks workers in over 100 cities are nearly one month into a nationwide unfair labor practice strike protesting alleged historic union busting and a failure to finalize a fair contract. Starbucks Workers United has grown to more than 650 stores since unionization began in Buffalo four years ago. The strike follows years of alleged illegal anti-union tactics and a December 1 $39 million settlement covering more than 500,000 labor violations in New York City since 2021. The effort has energized the U.S. labor movement given Starbucks's global influence. Corporate ties with Walmart and the addition of a Chevron board director have prompted accusations of hypocrisy and highlighted wider industry efforts to weaken unions.
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