DENTON, Texas — Some unionized Starbucks baristas are planning to strike on National Red Cup Day, one of the company’s busiest days of the year.
Starbucks employees at hundreds of stores across the country plan to participate in the Red Cup Rebellion when they walk off the job Thursday, according to a press release from the Starbucks Workers Union. The union said it’ll be their largest-ever strike
The union is demanding better pay, scheduling improvements and adequate staffing. Additionally, union reps said they want Starbucks to turn off mobile ordering on future promotion days, saying the feature creates stressful working conditions when locations are understaffed.
Shreya Chaudhari, a union representative in DFW and barista plans to go on strike. Her Starbucks location at Rayzor Ranch along University Drive in Denton plans a staff-wide strike all day long on Thursday.
“We have frankly just had enough,” Chaudhari said. “When you have such a profit-heavy day such as Red Cup Day, the strain that falls on us is immense.”
Chaudhari, a five-year employee, told WFAA she’s dealing with scheduling issues and poor working conditions due to low staffing at her location. Chaudhari said she has developed tendonitis as a result of her job.
“We know that having a strike on this day will hurt the company,” Chaudhari said. “We’re not gonna make a big impact, but we’re gonna make a point. And that’s what really matters.”
In North Texas, two Starbucks locations in Denton and a Bartonville location plan to strike. Several other locations will distribute pamphlets to raise awareness about employee demands.
The strike comes as Starbucks reported record sale in the company’s Q3 and Full Year Fiscal 2023 results.
Earlier this month, Starbucks announced it would give 3% pay raises and new benefits to some of its U.S. retail employees in 2024.
Vince Martinez, a barista in Denton said their previous raise was delayed following workers’ decision to unionize.
“It’s terrible to see how much money they make and how much money we don’t make,” said Martinez.
In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for Starbucks said the company is aware of the upcoming strike on Nov. 16. The company spokesperson said, “We remain committed to working with all partners… Workers United hasn’t agreed to meet to progress contract bargaining in more than four months.”