Newly elected New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani signaled support for organized labor this week by joining a growing boycott of Starbucks, after roughly 1,000 baristas walked off the job in coordinated strikes across the country. His stance adds political weight to a national labor push that has increasingly targeted major corporations over workplace conditions and union recognition.
Starbucks Workers United’s latest move gained additional traction when New York City’s mayor-elect weighed in, using his platform to urge customers to withhold their business from the chain. His call to step back from Starbucks underscored the political momentum behind the strikes and added pressure on the company as workers push for a breakthrough in negotiations.
Resharing the original strike announcement post of the Starbucks Workers United, Mamdani wrote on X, “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.” His reshared post has already received 1.4 million views.
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Mamdani made his position explicit, saying he won’t purchase anything from Starbucks for as long as employees remain on strike. He also encouraged others to stand with the workers by doing the same, adding a civic urgency to what has now become a high-visibility labor standoff.
Starbucks Workers United, meanwhile, signaled that it is ready for a prolonged showdown. The union said the newly launched action could escalate further, declaring it was prepared for what could become “the biggest and longest ULP strike in Starbucks history.”
The wave of strikes stems from what workers describe as the company’s continued failure to reach a contract with the union. After employees first unionized at a Buffalo store in 2021, Starbucks committed in December 2023 to finalizing an agreement by the end of 2024. But talks have stalled once again, with negotiations effectively frozen since April 2025, a breakdown that has only intensified worker frustration and energized the ongoing walkouts.
READ: Starbucks union launches strikes in over 40 cities on ‘Red Cup Day’ (November 13, 2025)
At the heart of the dispute is a push for more predictable scheduling and adequate staffing issues workers say have gone unaddressed even as stores face long lines and heavy foot traffic, according to the Associated Press. Employees also point to the stark contrast between their stagnant wages and the multimillion-dollar compensation packages awarded to top Starbucks executives, arguing that the company’s priorities remain out of sync with the realities faced by front-line staff.
Thursday marked Starbucks’ annual Red Cup Day, typically the company’s busiest and most lucrative promotion heading into the holiday rush. But instead of the usual surge of customers, the event became a flashpoint for worker frustration. Across more than 40 cities, over 1,000 baristas at roughly 65 stores launched an open-ended strike, saying they were fed up with what they described as stalled labor negotiations and a lack of meaningful movement from the company on core workplace issues.
Reflecting on the protest, Starbucks spokesperson Jaci Anderson told CNBC that “The day is off to an incredible start – based on what we’ve seen this morning, we’re on track to exceed our sales expectations for the day across company-operated coffeehouses in North America.”