Students Against Starbucks

Our Story

College students have supported baristas in their fight for a union contract ever since the beginning. Students Against Starbucks began in 2023, when students across the country started speaking out on campus in support of Starbucks baristas and demanding their universities cut ties with the coffee giant until it bargained a fair contract with its union baristas.

In February 2024, students held a national day of action where they loudly declared “Starbucks Gets an F” for how it treats its workers. Just one week later, union baristas brought the company to the bargaining table, and student organizing played an important role in making that happen. Students Against Starbucks paused its campaign as baristas made progress in negotiations with the company, but we warned Starbucks executives that if they backtracked on their commitments to a path forward with the union, we'd ramp up our campaign again to get colleges across the country to cut ties with Starbucks. Now we’re doing just that.

Building on student victories to cut contracts with Starbucks at Cornell and UCLA, a new generation of campus organizers across the country have launched Students Against Starbucks campaigns on their campuses to stand in solidarity with union baristas and call out the worst labor rights violator in modern history. With a recent contract non-renewal victory in Spring 2026 at Pomona College, a wave of momentum has risen to campuses across the country from California and Texas to Kansas, Georgia and beyond.

Your campus could be the next one to expel Starbucks!