In November 2025, workers at many Starbucks locations launched a labor strike amid unfair labor practices and stalled contract negotiations.[2] More than 14,000 Starbucks workers across the United States are unionized with Starbucks Workers United (SBWU).[3] Starbucks workers also urge customers to boycott the company as part of a "No Contract, No Coffee" campaign.[2] Starbucks has actively fought unionization for decades.[2] 92% of unionized workers voted to authorize the strike.[4] The strike is intended to expand to more stores if workers' demands are not met.[5]
Ahead of the strike, twenty-six U.S. Senators and eighty-two U.S. Representatives signed letters to Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol, demanding that Starbucks reach a contract with its workers.[2] Elected officials such as Zohran Mamdani (mayor-elect of New York City), Katie Wilson (mayor-elect of Seattle), and Brad Lander (comptroller of New York City) have also supported the strike.[6][7]
Labor historian Kate Bronfenbrenner noted during the strike that "The economic, political, and legal climate has changed a great deal since Starbucks agreed to bargain with the union in 2024. Starbucks, along with other corporations, are emboldened by a dysfunctional NLRB, and anti-union administration, and the dismantling of the regulatory state, to ignore the law and refuse to bargain a first agreement. Once again, Starbucks workers are striking and engaging customer support to get Starbucks back to the table. They may also need to again mount a large campaign with investors and other stakeholders to convince Starbucks that reaching a first contract is in the company’s best interest."[10]
Background
Starbucks
Starbucks is an American multinational chain of coffeeshops headquartered in Seattle, Washington. The current chief executive officer is Brian Niccol.
In early November, 92% of unionized Starbucks workers voted to authorize an open-ended strike if a contract with Starbucks was not finalized.[11]
The strike began on November 13, 2025, with an initial wave of sixty-five stores going on strike.[12] The strike is intended to expand to more stores if workers' demands are not met.[5] Elected officials including Seattle mayor-elect Katie Wilson, New York City councilmember Chi Ossé, and Philadelphia council member Nicolas O'Rourke joined workers on picket lines.[13][14][15] The week of the strike, five non-union Starbucks stores filed for union elections.[16]
On November 19, 2025, in Pennsylvania, hundreds of baristas and supporters blockaded the largest Starbucks distribution center in the country.[17] This prevented deliveries to stores across the Northeastern U.S.[17]
On November 19, 2025, a federal judge ruled that Starbucks must face a lawsuit from investors claiming it defrauded shareholders by concealing declining sales.[18] U.S. district judge John H. Chun made the ruling.[18]
On November 20, 2025, an additional wave of thirty more stores went on strike.[1] This brought the total number of striking Starbucks locations to ninety-five, across sixty-five cities.[1]
Initial cities with strike locations
When the strike began on November 13, 2025, it started with an initial wave of sixty-five stores in the following cities:[12]
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