Thousands of Starbucks workers across Georgia, US go on a one-day strike for ‘Red Cup Rebellion’ – WABE

This story was updated at 12:29 p.m.

Workers at more than 200 U.S. Starbucks — including several in metro Atlanta — walked off the job Thursday in what organizers said was the largest strike yet in the two-year-old effort to unionize the company’s stores.

The Workers United union chose Starbucks’ annual Red Cup Day to stage the walkout since it’s usually one of the busiest days of the year. Starbucks expects to give away thousands of reusable cups Thursday to customers who order holiday drinks.

The union said it was expecting more than 5,000 workers to take part in its “Red Cup Rebellion.” Workers were expected to picket for part of the day and visit non-union stores the rest of the day, the union said. Around 30 stores also staged walkouts on Wednesday.

The strike will affect coffee lovers in Georgia, where workers at the Starbucks at Ansley Mall in Midtown Atlanta, on Tara Boulevard in Jonesboro and at the Social Sciences Building at Kennesaw State University are all taking part in the action.

Edwin Palmasolis, a Starbucks employee for more than two years, joined the picket line Thursday in front of his New York store. His store voted to unionize last year, but so far Starbucks and the union haven’t started bargaining. A contract would help improve working conditions at his busy Manhattan store, Palmasolis said.

“It’s been more of a downgrade than an uphill for us. It’s been exhausting trying to deal with their retaliation and not much of a change has been made in the past year,” he said. “They’ve been silent on their part, they have not made anything to benefit us.”

Thursday’s strike was the fifth major labor action by Starbucks workers since a store in…