Protest at Starbucks in Downtown Providence Over Coffee Giant's "Refusal to Bargain"

Protest at Starbucks in Downtown Providence Over Coffee Giant's "Refusal to Bargain"

A small protest was held outside of the Starbucks at 1 Financial Plaza in Providence on Thursday morning, in opposition to what employees say is corporate management’s “refusal to bargain."

The event was billed as a coast-to-coast national walkout as a "Red Cup Rebellion" on "Red Cup Day."

In downtown Providence, however, employees at the location continued to work while roughly a dozen additional people arrived in support of the action outside the store. 

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Protesters were holding signs that said, "No contract, coffee."

As GoLocal reported:

Starbucks workers in Providence will strike on November 16, joining what organizers say is a coast-to-coast “Red Cup Rebellion,” demanding the coffee giant "stop illegally refusing to bargain with baristas over staffing, scheduling and other issues."

The strike comes on Red Cup Day, when the company hands out tens of thousands of free reusable cups, one of its busiest customer traffic days of the year. 

This week, Starbucks workers at the One Financial store in Providence filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to unionize with Starbucks Workers United.

Read more here.