Unionized Starbucks Workers at Store Near Loyola Strike as Part of ‘Red Cup Rebellion’

Over six unionized workers at the Starbucks Coffee franchise across from Loyola’s campus at 6350 N. Broadway on the corner of North Broadway and West Devon Avenue walked off the job on strike Thursday morning in protest of high work loads, low staffing and the company’s unwillingness to negotiate a contract with the union. 

The strikers joined workers from more than 300 Starbucks stores who have organized with the Starbucks Workers United union. The strike is part of the union’s “Red Cup Rebellion” to align with Starbucks’ annual Red Cup Day where customers who purchase seasonal beverages receive a free reusable holiday cup, according to the Starbucks website.

Red Cup Day is one of the hardest and most understaffed days of the year for baristas, according to the Starbucks Workers United website. 

Juniper Schweitzer, one of the striking workers who has worked at Starbucks for 12 years and has been at the Broadway and Devon location for three years, said Starbucks keeps releasing promotions without agreeing to workers’ demands for regulations on mobile orders.

“So what will happen, with the classes around here you guys will go on break and 50-60 people will hit order at the same time,” Schweitzer said. “There’s zero-regulation on that and we’re just overwhelmed with work, and we don’t get any pay increases, and we’re just expected to work harder for them to make more money.” 

Starbucks did not immediately respond to The Phoenix’s request for comment. 

Schweitzer said there are typically between three and seven workers on a shift at the store. The store remained open despite the strike and was being staffed by upper management and temporary workers pulled from other locations, according to Schweitzer. Starbucks Workers United first announced their planned nationwide strike for locations near college campuses in a Nov. 7 Instagram post.

“We know that everytime we go on strike they are going to scab this store because it is such a high volume store, and they make so much money off of us,” Schweitzer said. “They always definitely fill this place.”

The workers at the North Broadway location officially joined Starbucks Workers United after voting 12-2 in favor of forming a union in August 2022, The Phoenix previously reported. The workers participated in a one-day strike in March in protest of schedule changes the union didn’t approve, The Phoenix previously reported.

Featured image by Holden Green / The Phoenix