Red Cup Rebellion: Summit Starbucks Workers Go On Strike

SUMMIT, NJ — Baristas at Starbucks in Summit held a strike Thursday morning in solidarity with fellow employees of the coffee giant across the county.

More than 100 stores are participating in "Red Cup Rebellion" — a nationwide unfair labor practice strike demanding Starbucks "fully staff all union stores and begin bargaining in good faith."

Workers from the Starbucks on Beechwood Road in Summit voted in favor of unionizing this past May. The Summit location was the second in all of New Jersey to form a union.

Striking workers plan to demonstrate outside of their stores on Thursday and hand out Starbucks Workers United branded cups.

Picket hours were limited to 7 to 9 a.m. at Summit Starbucks, according to the announcement.

Other unionized locations in Hopewell and Montclair also have planned strikes Thursday.

Starbucks Workers United argues that Starbucks partners are the "face and cornerstone of the company, yet they are forced into running perpetually understaffed stores, and given inconsistent schedules they can’t rely on."

"Conditions like these directly affect customers — who face longer wait times —and are what led Starbucks partners nationwide to begin unionizing," Starbucks Workers United states. "The Company has only responded with disdain and disregard for its employees."

Now Starbucks partners across the country are demanding the company to negotiate and create improved standards in staff and scheduling, along with a host of other bargaining proposals that have been crafted by partner leaders across the country.

“The frequent understaffing we experience at our store benefits no one. It creates a high-stress work environment where we, as shift managers and baristas, are getting burned out fast. It also affects how quickly our customers receive their drinks, and how we are treated in return because of that,” a barista at the Hopewell store said.

“We want to be open and provide the best service to our customers and regulars, especially ondays such as Red Cup Day, but we are not being given the tools to succeed nor the incentive to do so,” the barista said.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued 39 official complaints against Starbucks, encompassing over 900 alleged violations of federal labor law.

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