The Berkeley Student Food Collective, in collaboration with UC Berkeley’s chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America, announced their support for a nationwide boycott called by Starbucks Workers United this weekend.

Starbucks Workers United are seeking their first contract as a union since formation in 2021. Contracts have been in discussion since 2024, when the first bargaining session between the union and Starbucks convened. Negotiations continued through April, but have since stalled.

Now, the union says the boycott will last until it wins a contract that includes higher wages, consistent staffing levels, health and safety improvements and protections against discrimination.

“This recent call for a boycott has been caused by a huge bad faith effort on Starbucks’ behalf to stall negotiations for a first contract,” said J. Noven, BSFC executive director. “Starbucks has committed previously to negotiating for a fair contract with its baristas and has completely abdicated that effort.”

In an Instagram post announcing its endorsement of the campaign, the BSFC noted that its involvement with Starbucks Workers United dates back to 2022, when workers at the now-closed store on Shattuck Avenue voted to unionize. 

The collective helped the union stage a one-day strike in 2023 over unfair labor practices and unsafe working conditions, particularly during heat waves. According to Noven, the Shattuck Avenue Starbucks location lacked air conditioning for a number of months. 

“The central point is that workers are community,” Noven said. “When workers are being exploited, it’s incumbent upon us throughout the community to take action in solidarity with them.”

Starbucks defended its treatment of workers, saying the two sides have reached more than 30 tentative agreements as of 2025 and that it remains willing to negotiate.

“Starbucks has competitive pay, industry-leading benefits, and meaningful opportunities to grow a career,” said a Starbucks spokesperson in an email. “As we have always been, we’re committed to engaging in productive bargaining.”

Jaz Brisack, a co-founder of Starbucks Workers United and practitioner in residence at the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education, said strikes alone are not sufficient to make meaningful changes in the system.

“I and my fellow organizers believed from the beginning that the only way we would be able to win against a company like Starbucks was through public pressure,” Brisack said in an email.

Brisack called on customers to provide support to help union organizers win a contract with Starbucks.

“When we organized the first Starbucks stores in Buffalo, we knew we were up against huge odds – three stores organizing out of 10,000 corporate-owned locations,” Brisack said. “Striking at 300 or 500 stores out of 10,000 is not enough to hurt the company’s bottom line. Only public support can do that.”