Thursday, December 11. Amid the cold weather in the city of Madison, Wisconsin, on State Street, a small group gathers in front of a Starbucks store. They are striking baristas, joined by supporters. In the state capital, one-third of Starbucks locations are currently shut down. The strike is national in scope. Workers mobilize by chanting slogans such as:

No contract, no coffee!

No workers, no Starbucks!

The workers! United! Will never be divided!

Starbucks is a large multinational coffeehouse chain. In the United States, it operates more than 15,000 stores, employing hundreds of thousands of workers, most of them young. In recent years, unionization, still minoritarian, has been on the rise, with baristas demanding fair pay and better working conditions.

The 2025 strike does not involve a majority of stores, but it has disrupted daily life in many cities and is helping to shape a new generation of union activists. Striking workers are also calling on consumers not to purchase coffee at Starbucks locations that remain open during the strike. Activists from the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) have joined the picket lines in solidarity with the mobilization.

In Madison, our column spoke with Joanna, a worker at the striking store on State Street, Madison. She explained the mobilization and, at the end, sent a message of solidarity to Brazil.

FLCMF: Joanna, thank you for speaking with us. Could you start by introducing yourself?

Joanna: My name is Joanna. I’m 24 years old, and I’m a shift manager at this Capitol Square Starbucks location, State Street. I’ve been with Starbucks for six years.

FLCMF: What is happening at this moment at this Starbucks location?

Joanna: We’ve been unionized here for over three years, and nationally for about four. Starbucks as a company has consistently stalled negotiations. Along with that, they’ve engaged in union-busting tactics, trying to spread fear and misinformation about unions so that stores don’t unionize or decide not to vote for a union.

Right now, we’re on a national strike. Contract negotiations started last year, but they were paused because of an economic dispute. The company wanted to offer a 1% raise, which amounts to about 15 cents, and our union was adamant that this was not a sufficient wage increase, especially considering that our CEO made $90 million last year for just four months of work.

Proportionally, the company makes thousands of dollars for every worker. So we’re out here on strike, and we’ve been striking for a couple of weeks now. We’re trying to push the company to feel some pressure financially, so they come back to the table and offer a better deal, especially on wages and economic issues.

FLCMF: Do you know roughly how many stores and workers are on strike nationally?

Joanna: Nationally, I believe it’s close to 200 stores. Out of roughly 15,000 Starbucks stores, about 500 are unionized so far, and more are expected to join. Here in Madison, four out of six stores are currently on strike. We have six unionized stores total, which is about half of our district. There are around 12 or 13 stores in the district altogether.

FLCMF: Finally, do you have a message for Brazilians activists who are watching this mobilization in solidarity with you?

Joanna: Absolutely. Solidarity all around. I’m sure there’s a lot going on in Brazil as well when it comes to workers’ and labor rights. Being mindful of where you spend your money and of the actions of the companies you work for is really important. Supporting other workers in your own communities, at the end of the day, it’s all about solidarity.

FLCMF: Joanna, thank you very much. We wish you strength and express our international solidarity with the strike.

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