Strike Solidarity
In Fall 2023, students from over 50 campuses stood in solidarity with Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) baristas in a nationwide unfair labor practice (ULP) strike. Students from campuses like Georgetown, Oklahoma University and Stanford joined this Red Cup Rebellion by marching alongside union baristas on the picket lines and handing out No Contract, No Coffee pledges to encourage fellow students and community members to not spend their money with an anti-worker company like Starbucks.
Two years later, students put their weight behind SBWU baristas as they embarked on what would become the longest work stoppage in Starbucks history. Students mobilized on campuses across the country, organizing teach-ins and rallies to stand in solidarity with striking baristas. At campuses like the University of Washington and Louisiana State University, students helped operate strike kitchens to keep baristas fed, while students from Reno and New York City to Houston, and Georgia stood in lockstep with striking baristas and called on their university leaders to cut ties with Starbucks.
Boycott
As the future workforce, greedy, law-breaking corporations like Starbucks would have us believe that union-busting and a $9 cup of coffee is the new norm, but students and young people will not stand for it! Gen-Z is the most pro-union generation in modern US history and we make up a significant chunk of Starbucks’ consumer base, so what workers and young people say goes. So long as Starbucks, the most prolific union-buster in American history, denies their baristas the right to a fair contract, we will take our business elsewhere and let everyone know!
Students, whether in university, community college, or high school, can help baristas in their fight for a fair union contract by signing the Boycott Starbucks pledge, showing the notorious union buster that we are not buying Starbucks products. Current students can also encourage student groups and organizations to blacklist Starbucks from all events, catering, and sponsorships. Boycotts are more than just a preference of product – they are a way to encourage friends, family and fellow students to stand together in fighting against unchecked corporate greed and for workers rights.