Zohran Mamdani Calls for Starbucks Boycott

Mamdani Aligns Himself With Labor

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is calling on the public to avoid Starbucks as thousands of the company’s baristas launch an open-ended strike. His stance offers an early look at how he may use the visibility of the mayor’s office to champion organized labor. Fotografía oficial de la Presidencia de Colombia / Wikimedia

Baristas Walk Off the Job Nationwide

Starbucks workers across the country began a strike on Thursday as contract negotiations between the company and its union continued to stall. The walkout was intentionally timed to coincide with Red Cup Day — an annual promotion that reliably delivers some of the chain’s biggest sales. AK / Unsplash

Mamdani Calls for Public Support

In a post on X, Mamdani urged customers to steer clear of Starbucks until workers secure a contract. “Starbucks workers across the country are on an Unfair Labor Practices strike, fighting for a fair contract,” he wrote. “While workers are on strike, I won't be buying any Starbucks, and I'm asking you to join us.” Bingjiefu He, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Strike Could Expand if Talks Fail

Roughly 1,000 baristas across 65 stores were expected to participate in Thursday’s walkout, according to the union representing Starbucks workers. Union officials said the strike could grow to involve employees at more than 500 stores if negotiations do not resume. Starbucks currently operates 16,864 US stores, and about 9,500 unionized baristas represent roughly 4% of its retail workforce. Athar Khan / Unsplash

Company Pushes Back

The strike follows months of halted contract discussions and comes shortly after Starbucks announced a major restructuring that included closing more than 600 US locations. A company spokesperson told Business Insider on Friday: “Despite Workers United's efforts to cause disruption, more than 99% of our coffeehouses remain open and our partners delivered the strongest Reusable Red Cup Day in company history, building on last Thursday's holiday launch, which was the biggest sales day ever for the company.” June Andrei George / Unsplash

A Preview of Mamdani’s Mayoral Approach

Mamdani, a democratic socialist and longtime labor ally, signaled that he intends to use his new platform to elevate workers’ causes. “Together, we can send a powerful message,” he wrote. “No contract, no coffee.” Karamccurdy, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons