Zohran Mamdani Wants You to Boycott Starbucks

Zohran Mamdani doesn’t want you to shop at Starbucks right now.

The New York City mayor-elect is urging people not to patronize the iconic coffee chain while baristas remain on strike.

“Starbucks workers across the country are on an Unfair Labor Practices strike, fighting for a fair contract,” Mamdani wrote on X on Thursday evening. “While workers are on strike, I won’t be buying any Starbucks, and I’m asking you to join us.”

The open-ended strike coincided with Red Cup Day, when the chain offers free reusable holiday cups to customers. Historically, it’s driven record sales for the company.

On Thursday, when the strike began, roughly 1,000 workers across 65 stores were expected to strike, according to the union.

The work stoppage could expand to more than 500 stores if negotiations do not resume, the union said in a statement on Thursday. In the US, Starbucks has 16,864 stores, according to its most recent earnings report.

Unionized stores represent roughly 9,500 baristas, or 4% of the retail labor force, according to a Starbucks spokesperson.

The strike comes amid stalled contract negotiations at the coffee giant, and also follows the company’s announcement of a restructuring that led to the closure of more than 600 stores across the US.

It’s the fourth strike that the union has organized since 2023, and it’s the third to have taken place since CEO Brian Niccol began leading the company in September 2024.

“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,” a spokesperson told Business Insider on Friday.

Mamdani lending support to the striking baristas represents an early indication of how he may use the bully pulpit of his office as mayor of New York City. The Democratic socialist state assemblyman has long positioned himself as an ally to labor.

“Together, we can send a powerful message,” Mamdani wrote on Thursday. “No contract, no coffee.”

It’s not the only hint as to Mamdani’s plans for office to have surfaced this week.

The NYC mayor-elect could be seen with his arms around Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former FTC Commissioner Lina Khan, a member of his transition team, in a photo shared on social media on Friday.

In the caption, Mamdani wrote: “In the fight for working people, you find good company.”

Warren had repeatedly praised Mamdani ahead of the NYC mayoral election, touting his focus on affordability. On Friday, she also expressed her support for the striking Starbucks baristas in a post on X.

“While the Starbucks CEO rolls around in his millions, the workers who actually make your coffee are struggling to get by,” Warren wrote. “Workers at world’s largest coffee chain deserve a fair contract.”