New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani called on his more than 1 million X followers this week to join him in boycotting Starbucks as the company faces a widespread labor strike.
“Starbucks workers across the country are on an Unfair Labor Practices strike, fighting for a fair contract,” Mamdani wrote Thursday. “While workers are on strike, I won’t be buying any Starbucks, and I’m asking you to join us. Together, we can send a powerful message: No contract, no coffee.”
His message came the same day Starbucks Workers United — the labor union representing employees at the chain — launched an open-ended walkout dubbed the “Red Cup Rebellion.”
The union posted online: “As of today, Starbucks workers across the country are officially ON STRIKE. And we’re prepared for this to become the biggest and longest ULP strike in Starbucks history. Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON’T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX.”
The action coincided with Starbucks’ annual Red Cup Day, when customers typically flood stores to pick up a free reusable holiday cup.
Jaci Anderson, Starbucks Director of Global Communications, responded in comments to Fox News Digital, saying:
“We actually had a great day — 99% of our coffeehouses remained open and welcoming customers, and we exceeded our sales expectations across company-operated coffeehouses in North America, making it the best Red Cup Day ever.”
She also challenged the union’s portrayal of the strike:
“We’re disappointed that Workers United, who represents less than 4% of our partners, has called for a strike instead of returning to the bargaining table. Less than 1% of our coffeehouses are experiencing any level of disruption and the vast majority of our 240,000 partners came to work ready to serve customers and celebrate Reusable Red Cup Day.”
Anderson added that Starbucks remains willing to negotiate and highlighted what she described as competitive industry pay and benefits:
“Any agreement needs to reflect the reality that Starbucks offers the best job in retail, including more than $30 an hour on average in pay and benefits for hourly partners.”
Mamdani, 34, won the New York City mayoral election on Nov. 4 after a surprising victory in the Democratic primary in June as a democratic socialist. In both races, he defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an Independent in the general election.
