Starbucks 'Red Cup Rebellion' strike first major DSA action after Mamdani Victory

The nationwide Red Cup Rebellion strike kicked off Thursday as more than 1,000 unionized Starbucks workers walked off the job at 65 stores across the country. But the New York City chapter of Democratic Socialists of America treated the action as its first major mobilization following Zohran Mamdani’s recent victory in the New York City mayoral race.

During a pre-strike organizing call, NYC DSA Labor co-chair Olivia framed the moment as the organization’s next major project. “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.”

The call included rhetoric about the future of labor militancy within the socialist movement. Speakers urged activists, employed by the coffee giant or not, to join picket lines, spoke of the union’s pro-Hamas stance, and described the strategy behind the Starbucks campaign as a “guerrilla movement” informed by a “guerrilla warfare mindset.”

The call concluded with a recruitment pitch: “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.”

The strike was organized to disrupt Starbucks’ annual Red Cup Day, historically one of the chain’s busiest days of the year. Since 2018, customers who purchase a holiday drink on that day receive a free reusable cup, creating long lines and heavy foot traffic.

Starbucks Workers United said Thursday morning that the strike had already forced some stores to close and more were likely as the day continued. Workers from stores in New York, Seattle, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, San Diego, St. Louis, Dallas, Columbus, and dozens of other cities participated.

There is no set end date for the action. Organizers say more stores are prepared to join if Starbucks does not work toward a contract agreement.

Starbucks, for its part, emphasized that most of its 10,000 company-owned US stores and 7,000 licensed locations would remain open. Roughly 550 stores have unionized to date, though the company closed 59 unionized locations in September in what it called a broader reorganization effort.

New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani publicly backed the strike on social media, writing, “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 on a picket line shortly after her campaign victory speech. “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 told the crowd. She 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, who describes herself as a democratic socialist, has said she is “fine with being called a Democrat, a socialist, or both.” Although she applied for DSA-Seattle’s endorsement, the local chapter ultimately did not endorse her, citing internal criteria that she “was not and could not be a ‘cadre candidate.’”