Students join Starbucks baristas at campus rallies backing boycott

Baristas, students, elected officials and supporters are holding rallies at more than 40 college campuses across the United States on Thursday, according to The Guardian. The events back the Starbucks Workers United boycott campaign. The union says talks with the company have been stuck for nearly five years.

The union wants higher pay and stronger staffing. Its demands include a minimum wage of $17 an hour for baristas and at least three workers in each store. It has asked the public to avoid Starbucks until a first contract is agreed.

Gatherings will also take place at Northwestern, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Washington, plus other private and state-funded schools. The timing matters because the company is entering its busy holiday season. Red Cup Day, which lands on 17 November, is the day shoppers are handed a holiday cup they can reuse.

Long road to a first contract

More than 700 Starbucks stores have voted to unionise, representing over 12,000 baristas. A new union usually needs more than 450 days to reach its first contract. In this case, nearly five years have passed since the first store in Buffalo, New York, voted to unionise in December 2021.

A brief pause in efforts came in February 2024, when the union and the company agreed on a path forward. Talks broke down shortly after Brian Niccol became Starbucks chief executive. Niccol previously led Chipotle from 2018 to 2024. Under his leadership, Chipotle agreed to pay $240,000 to former workers in a settlement over a Maine store closure that followed unionisation. The National Labor Relations Board said that closure was illegal, while Chipotle has denied wrongdoing.

Campus focus and company response

Since 2023 the union has pressed college campuses to end their contracts with Starbucks. Cornell University and Pomona College did not renew their deals. UCLA stopped offering Starbucks products in its cafes.

Andrew Trinklein, a barista who joined a demonstration linked to the University of Texas at Austin, said workers lack just-cause job protection. He described the risk of dismissal over how staff write messages on cups. Starbucks has reportedly spent tens of millions of dollars on union avoidance, though it has not disclosed its full costs.

A Starbucks spokesperson said the union represents about 5% of US partners and that such actions distract from bargaining. The company said it does not expect meaningful disruption during the holidays. It also cited independent research claiming its pay and benefits are among the best in the industry.

• Starbucks has been found in breach of federal labor law by the NLRB in several cases.
• The company says nearly 3 million people applied to join it last year.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• The Guardian: College students rally in support of Starbucks baristas urging boycott over contract impasse

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