Thousands of Starbucks employees join 'red cup rebellion' protest, show support for unionization
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Nearly two thousand Starbucks employees in 25 states are staging a one-day strike Thursday.
The walkout, nicknamed "the red cup rebellion," is to protest retaliation against union supporters and the company's refusal to bargain with the workers' union.
Union leaders sent a mass email to media and union members with details of the strike, which it described as the "biggest coordinated national action taken by union Starbucks stores in the campaign's history."
The email stated that the strike was a "response to Starbucks' union-busting tactics and refusal to bargain," and noted that striking workers would be "handing out red Starbucks Workers United union cups to customers instead."
The strike falls on Starbucks' Red Cup Day.
It's when customers get a red cup which gives them access to discounts and extra points.
At least 257 Starbucks have voted to unionize since last year.
Starbucks has asked the National Labor Relations Board to suspend all union elections at its U.S. stores.
Meantime, the NLRB has filed a cease and desist order to bar Starbucks from retaliating against union supporters.
Starbucks Workers United, which represents over 260 locations and nearly 7,000 workers, has formed more new unions in a 12-month period than any U.S. company in the last 20 years.
The National Labor Relations Board has issued 39 official complaints against Starbucks, encompassing over 900 alleged violations of federal labor law, according to the union.
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