‘No contract, no coffee’: Providence Starbucks employees strike for better working conditions

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Workers held signs outside a Starbucks in Providence Thursday chanting “no contract, no coffee.”

Employees scheduled to work at the Financial Plaza store stood outside as part of a national one-day strike for better working conditions. Workers called it the “Red Cup Rebellion” as the strike fell on Red Cup Day, one of the biggest selling days of the year for the coffee giant.

ABC 6 News saw a group of 10 employees stand in solidarity.

They said sometimes they’re an hour behind on orders due to low staffing.

Employees of a Starbucks store in Providence stand in solidarity with a national one-day strike for a new contract with better working conditions, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. (WLNE)

“They don’t know about the school hours, they don’t know about the students, they don’t know about the community,” said Dalia Cerezo. “So, when they have someone new coming in, who doesn’t know the area, they don’t want to believe us.”

“We’ve said multiple times ‘there’s a rush at this time, there’s a rush at this time’ — we’re not staffed properly for it,” she said.

The location was expected to be closed Thursday, but workers told ABC 6 that managers from other stores arrived to serve customers.’

Employees of a Starbucks store in Providence stand in solidarity with a national one-day strike for a new contract with better working conditions, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. (WLNE)

The national one-day strike demanded better pay, staffing, and control for local stores, including the ability to turn off mobile ordering.

Workers want to be able to turn off mobile ordering on promotional sales days like Red Cup Day, claiming it creates an influx of orders, resulting in drink orders piling up as in-store customers have to wait for theirs much longer than usual.

The union said this causes customers to get frustrated and often take out their anger on workers, who are busy trying to prepare food and drink orders as quickly as possible.

A box of Dunkin’ coffee keeps Starbucks employees warm during a national one-day strike for a new contract, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. (WLNE)

Some union workers took part in a similar strike on Red Cup Day last year, which reportedly ended up being the highest selling day ever for Starbucks.

In response, Starbucks said the worker’s union “hasn’t agreed to meet for contract bargaining in more than four months.”

The company continued, “We again call on Workers United to fulfill their obligations and engage in the work of negotiating.”