St. Louis' unionized Starbucks workers join national ‘Red Cup Rebellion’ strike

Workers from all eight unionized Starbucks stores in the St. Louis region on Thursday morning joined thousands of the chain's employees across the nation in a “Red Cup Rebellion” strike.

A couple of dozen workers from the Starbucks Workers United union gathered outside a store on Grand Boulevard in Tower Grove, calling for a fair contract and requesting that the coffee giant stop refusing to bargain. It was part of a national one-day strike called the “Red Cup Rebellion,” which comes on Red Cup Day — one of the busiest customer traffic days of the year, when free, reusable cups are handed out.

On promotional days like this, Starbucks union members said orders pile up with lines out the door, leaving an already short staff of workers to deal with angry customers who have had to wait longer than usual for their orders.