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‘Guerrilla Warfare’?: Socialists Embrace ‘Red Cup Rebellion’ Worker’s Strike Against Starbucks [WATCH]

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More than 1,000 unionized Starbucks workers walked off the job Thursday as the nationwide Red Cup Rebellion strike began, affecting at least 65 stores across the United States.

The action, organized [1] by Starbucks Workers United, coincided with one of the company’s busiest promotional events of the year.

It also became the first major organizing effort embraced by the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America after Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the New York City mayoral race.

During a pre-strike organizing call, NYC DSA Labor co-chair Olivia described the action as the organization’s next major undertaking.

“This is our next thing,” she said.

“After we got Zohran elected mayor, we’re gonna show up for our siblings in Starbucks Workers United.”

Participants on the call discussed broader goals for expanding labor activism within the socialist movement.

Speakers encouraged supporters—regardless of whether they worked for the company—to join picket lines and referenced the union’s pro-Hamas stance.

They characterized the campaign as a “guerrilla movement” shaped by a “guerrilla warfare mindset.”

The call ended with an appeal for recruitment. “Join DSA today. Join the socialist movement that propelled Zohran Mamdani to victory. Join the movement that’s going to build a militant left labor movement to fight Trump, authoritarianism, and the oligarchy,” one speaker said.

The strike was timed to coincide with Starbucks’ annual Red Cup Day, a promotional event that draws heavy customer turnout.

Since 2018, customers who buy a holiday-themed beverage on this day receive a free reusable cup, a tradition that regularly produces long lines and increased store traffic.

Starbucks Workers United said early Thursday that pickets had already forced some locations to close, and it expected additional closures throughout the day.

Workers from cities including New York, Seattle, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, San Diego, St. Louis, Dallas, and Columbus took part.

Organizers said the strike has no predetermined end date and that additional stores are prepared to join if negotiations do not advance toward a contract agreement.

Starbucks, in a statement, emphasized that most of its U.S. operations would continue to function.

The company said that nearly all of its approximately 10,000 company-owned stores and 7,000 licensed locations would remain open.

To date, roughly 550 stores have unionized.

Starbucks closed 59 unionized locations in September, citing a broader company reorganization.

New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani publicly endorsed the strike.

In a post on social media, he wrote, “Starbucks workers across the country are on an Unfair Labor Practices strike, fighting for a fair contract. 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.”

In Seattle, Starbucks’ hometown, socialist Mayor-elect Katie Wilson appeared at a picket line shortly after delivering her campaign victory speech.

Addressing workers, she said, “That is why I am proud to join them on their picket line and proud to say, loud and clear, I am not buying Starbucks and you should not either.”

Wilson added, “This is your hometown and mine. Seattle’s making some changes right now… And I urge you to do the right thing. Because in Seattle, when workers’ rights are under attack, what do we do?”

Wilson has publicly described herself as a democratic socialist but noted she is “fine with being called a Democrat, a socialist, or both.”

She applied for DSA-Seattle’s endorsement earlier in the year, though the chapter ultimately declined to support her, stating that she “was not and could not be a ‘cadre candidate.’”

The Red Cup Rebellion represents one of the largest coordinated actions undertaken by Starbucks Workers United since the union began organizing in late 2021.

Organizers said additional updates would be provided as the strike continues and as more stores decide whether to participate in the ongoing labor action.