Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani Calls for National Starbucks Boycott in Support of Striking Baristas
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has utilized his significant social media platform to call for a widespread consumer boycott of Starbucks, expressing strong solidarity with thousands of unionized baristas currently engaged in an open-ended unfair labor practices strike across the United States. Mamdani, a prominent progressive politician, issued the directive to his one million followers on X, pledging that he personally would not purchase any Starbucks products for the duration of the walkout and urging others to adopt the campaign slogan, “No contract, no coffee.” The strike, which was launched by Starbucks Workers United and dubbed the “Red Cup Rebellion,” began on Thursday to coincide with the company’s typically high-traffic Red Cup Day promotion, affecting over 65 stores in more than 40 cities nationwide.
The Mayor-elect’s public stance adds considerable political weight to the ongoing labor dispute, which centers on the union’s demands for a fair contract, better pay, more predictable scheduling, and an end to what they describe as persistent union-busting activities by the coffee giant. Starbucks Workers United, representing approximately 9,000 baristas, initiated the strike to protest the prolonged breakdown in contract negotiations, which have been stalled since April 2025 following the union’s rejection of the company’s previous economic proposals. The union stated that the escalation to an open-ended strike was necessary to counter the company’s refusal to finalize an agreement and address hundreds of unresolved unfair labor practice charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board.
While Mamdani and other progressive political figures, including representatives Rashida Tlaib and Yassamin Ansari, have emphatically backed the workers’ cause, Starbucks has responded by minimizing the impact of the strike. The company stated that the union represents fewer than four percent of its total workforce and maintained that the vast majority of its thousands of corporate-operated locations were functioning normally and serving customers without disruption. Starbucks further asserted that it remains committed to negotiating in good faith and already offers competitive wages and benefits, averaging over thirty dollars an hour in total compensation for hourly partners, a claim disputed by the striking workers who cite chronic understaffing and stagnant base wages.
