Meet me Friday to stand up to Starbucks greenwashing and bullying

All this month, we’ve been telling you about climate hypocrites at Starbucks coffee. The global coffee giant promised to cut global warming pollution in half in 2019. Instead, their pollution and emissions have increased every year.

Likewise, Starbucks says they care about their staff — Baristas and other staff are overwhelmingly young, climate-minded, often queer and gender nonconformist. But instead of celebrating the diversity of their staff, and working with them to act on climate and other issues, corporate leadership has engaged in a scorched earth union busting campaign that’s fired more than 100 workers, closed stores, and refused to bargain with some union workers for up to a year.

This Friday, December 9, we’re delivering the more than 42,000 petition signatures calling on Starbucks to stop greenwashing and union busting and deliver on their commitments to climate and workers. Can you join us?

On Dec 9 2021, the first Starbucks in America voted to unionize in Buffalo, NY. On December 9, 2022 we’ll join workers in 10 cities and actions nation-wide to celebrate more than 7,000 Starbucks workers who have organized more than 265 stores on the anniversary of the campaign’s first election victory.

In addition to delivering your signatures and messages, we’ll be joined by labor and community groups to tell Howard Schultz and the S’bux Board of Directors to stop bullying baristas and greenwashing their climate pledges. Teachers unions and LGBTQ+ workers will join us to say that union busting is bullying, and that greenwashing is climate denial. Join us in the streets and in action to show Starbucks that we see through their false image as a sustainable, pro-worker corporation, and we’re demanding real change.

Earlier this holiday season, we told you about how Starbucks workers kicked off their anti-bullying campaign with 111 strikes across 25 states to launch #RedCupRebellion. That day of action coincided with Starbucks’ Red Cup Day, a company event where they give away re-suable cups as a promotion and claim to be sustainable. But really it’s another example of greenwashing and forced labor. So instead of serving up Starbucks’ cups, baristas walked out in their first nationally coordinated strike and handed out their own Starbucks Workers United holiday cups to strike supporters. 

Rather than meeting workers at the bargaining table, Starbucks has fired more than 125 workers who are participating in unionization efforts and closing stores where unions are building. Workers have been waiting more than 6 months, and in some cases more than a year to bargain

On Dec 9 we are going to escalate with rallies in 10 cities and actions nationwide. At each of the 10 rallies, we’ll hear from Starbucks workers, teachers, LGBTQ+ allies, and climate champions echoing our demand: Starbucks, clean up your act and start delivering for climate and workers.

Click here to RSVP for our rally in your city to join us in action!