Starbucks workers union urges boycott at University of Pennsylvania
Starbucks workers have been organizing for years and are seeking their first union contract.
The union that represents Starbucks workers organized a rally Thursday at the University of Pennsylvania as part of a day of actions across several campuses, including Northwestern University and University of Pittsburgh.
The day of rallies comes amid a larger campaign the union has been leading to boycott Starbucks as workers seek to finalize a first union contract with the company.
Some 30 people in attendance in Philadelphia, including union organizers and supporters, gathered around noon at the intersection of 34th and Walnut Streets to demand that the university cut ties with Starbucks and stop serving the coffee at dining halls and cafes. Students Against Starbucks, a coalition group that was formed in solidarity with the Starbucks Workers United union, delivered a letter to the president of the university on Thursday with boycott demands.
“We’re calling on Penn to cut its ties with Starbucks,” president of Workers United Lynne Fox said, addressing the crowd. “We’re saying that they shouldn’t give Starbucks access until baristas get a fair contract.”
A representative for the university did not respond to a request for comment.
The rally comes just days ahead of Starbuck’s Red Cup Day, when the coffee chain gives out reusable red cups for the holiday season. In 2025, Starbucks workers in Philadelphia went out on strike on Red Cup Day amid a work stoppage across stores in several cities.The union has also planned strikes during Red Cup day in other recent years as well.
“After a three-month-long strike, we still don’t have a contract,” said Matthew Valenzuela, 25, a barista at the 16th and Walnut Streets Starbucks in Philadelphia who went on strike.
“So we have to hit them again, and we have to hit them differently,” said Valenzuela, addressing the crowd. “Our ask here today is we’re asking your whole organization to boycott Starbucks.”
Starbucks spokesperson Melissa Diaz said in a statement that based on Starbucks’ experience “with prior similar actions,” they didn’t expect meaningful disruption.
“Our partners and coffeehouses are focused on bringing the joy of the holidays to life for our customers,” said Diaz.
What do workers want?
Unionized workers are seeking a minimum wage of $17 and 4% annual raises. They also want job security and a contract that requires cafes to have three workers on staff at all times.
The company has said that it offers competitive pay and that benefits include healthcare coverage, paying for college tuition, and up to 18 weeks of paid parental leave. Benefits and pay on average amount to roughly $30 an hour for baristas.
“It’s a much harder job than a lot of people think is ‘just serve coffee’,” said Valenzuela, who makes roughly $19.50 in his current position. “People need to realize that we are not demanding that much.”
The job of a barista involves making drinks quickly and well, says Valenzuela, while engaging with customers, and writing a message on cups — one of the initiatives Starbucks CEO has brought back as part of its marketing strategy since taking the helm of the company in 2024. Workers on a closing shift also need to clean the store, adds Valenzuela.
“We have to do all of this while at the same time being told we’re just, you know, serving coffee,” he said.
Valenzuela and his colleagues also attend to customers that say they used to go to another location that has since shut down. Starbucks has closed several stores in the Philadelphia area and nationwide in recent years. In September the coffee chain said it would close roughly 250 stores, including two stores in Philadelphia and another in South Jersey. The previous year, Starbucks closed six Philadelphia stores as it planned to shut down hundreds of stores nationwide.
How is bargaining going?
Baristas held their first union election in 2021 in Buffalo, and now Starbucks Workers United represents over 12,000 Starbucks employees at almost 700 stores, according to the union.
The union represents roughly 5% of the company’s U.S. baristas, said Diaz, who added on Thursday “we believe actions like these divert attention from the work at the bargaining table.”
The union met with the company two days this week to negotiate, but the president of Workers United, Lynne Fox noted, “There’s really no movement at all.”
“We meet. There’s a lot of posturing and pushing papers around, but no substantive change,” she said.
The company, for its part, has said that it’s engaged in good faith collective bargaining.
Fox noted on Thursday that the union isn’t backing down.
“We’re not going anywhere,” said Fox. “Have you met us?”
