The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.

Crowd chants:

What do we want? Contract! When do we want it? Now! If we don’t get it? Shut it down! If we don’t get it? Shut it down!

Maximillian Alvarez:

I’m here in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, just outside City Hall. It’s Thursday, November 13th, around 5:00 PM Eastern time. And earlier today, over a thousand Starbucks workers in over 45 cities around the country walked off the job and went out on an unfair labor practice strike. After last week, a super majority of unionized baristas voted to authorize the strike, demanding that Starbucks come back to the bargaining table with serious proposals to address workers’ ongoing years long concerns about safe staffing, better pay, better work hours, and all manner of unfair labor practices that have been filed against the company since the first store unionized in Buffalo, New York, just four years ago in December of 2021. Workers are saying around the country that they’re prepared to escalate this strike and to stay out on the picket line for as long as it takes until they get the first contract that they’ve been fighting for years.

Sebastian Maris:

This is solidarity. This is the thing. This is the only thing that will save working people from the crushing weight of corporate greed because every day we choose to fight, that fire gets bigger and stronger and hotter and brighter, not just for our coworkers, but for all working people. So what will you choose to do? Strike! What will you choose to do? Strike! What will you choose to do? Strike!

Tony Schultz:

We are currently at City Hall in Philly, and we’re out here to continue our first day of our strike for unfair labor practices committed by Starbucks. Today is the first wave of a multi-way strike that we’re rolling out. We are one of a couple of cities that started today as well as maybe some other stores elsewhere. So by the end of it, it’s going to be hundreds of stores with thousands of partners out on strike. At this point, most of our first contract has been settled on between both our union and the company. The things that are holding them up and what the company walked away from the bargaining table over are the most important ones, which is the economics. So that’s our healthcare, that’s our wages, that’s our benefits, that’s our staffing on the floor. Those are the things that are holding up the contract that the company refuses to come back and settle over.

David Melman:

And we’ve been fighting for a long time for a fair contract. Many of our Starbucks members have fought for four years, three years. And unlike a lot of union members, they haven’t gotten the benefits of a union contract yet, but they’ve gotten something in some ways more intangible, in some ways more incredible. And that’s to be part of this incredible struggle, this beautiful struggle to improve the lives of their coworkers and bring justice and fairness to their workplaces.

Nicolas O’Rourke:

Starbucks baristas are fighting for living wages. They’re fighting for fair schedules. They’re fighting for safety and respect, and for an end to disgusting union busting. Starbucks markets a progressive brand, a woke brand if you will. Workers have shown a different reality, a record shattering anti-union campaign, retaliatory firings, bad faith, bargaining and intimidation with over 400 labor law violations in over 125 ULP charges this year alone. Shame.

Tony Schultz:

I’ve only been with the company for two years, so I can’t say for the entirety of the length of this campaign. However, over the last two years, it’s certainly gotten worse.

Maximillian Alvarez:

Well, and consumers experience that too, right? I mean, we walk in, we see the two stressed out employees, we see drinks piling up at the end of the counter

Tony Schultz:

And the increased wage or the increased price of all of the drinks that just constantly keep going up and up and up.

Maximillian Alvarez:

And so if for consumers who are being frustrated by this, what would you say to folks on that end about why they should care about the workers’ struggle at Starbucks?

Tony Schultz:

The company is going to try and spin it that they’re going to have to increase the price of drinks so that they can afford to pay for what we’re asking for. And I just want to make it very clear, they do not have to increase the price of drinks any further than they already have. They have enough money to fund this entire contract with only one day of sales from the entire world. It would take just one day to settle the fair contract that we deserve. So I know it’s going to be very frustrating because of that increase of price, but I think it’s very important to just understand that we’re out here fighting for better conditions for us so that we can give you a better experience as a customer.

Angela Ferritto:

This is one of the busiest times for baristas, the folks who fuel our work days and often start our mornings. But behind the counter, these workers are fighting for something they should never have to fight this hard for fairness, respect, and a voice on the job. No one should have to fight this hard for basic workers’ rights.

Keturah Johnson:

My name is Keturah Johnson, international Vice President of the Association of Flight Attendants from Philadelphia. What just happened was a rally for the Starbucks workers who went on a national strike today nationwide for respect. Starbucks quarters are scrappy, they bang heavy. I was over there. They shut down the Starbucks in University City. We marched over to the one on Penn’s campus, we shut it down. Managers were inside. The dude even looked outside and saw his barista on the strike line and was like, why would I go inside and get my drink made by a scab? So very, very proud of the Starbucks workers. But just like over overall what’s going on is solidarity because people were fucking tired of being shit on. People are tired of not having fucking respect and being seen and treated as fucking humans. So fuck yeah, to Starbucks solidarity forever and protect trans folks. It’s important that unions are out here. They fuel us as flight attendants. I mean, I don’t drink coffee, but that workers, you know what I mean? Like teamsters are delivering goods to the stores. Philadelphia is drinking coffee when they come to work, nurses. You know what I mean? So it’s important that we show up for each other to show that there is power, and that when we do fight, we do win. And when we strike, we win.

David Melman:

Because the union is not just an organization, it’s not just a collection of contracts. It’s not just staff. It’s an ideal, it’s a belief. It’s a movement. And our movement has been so incredibly strengthened by the addition of our beloved Starbucks siblings, brothers, sisters, comrades, who have really energized, not just our union, but the entire labor movement.

Kim Kelly:

So the thing I’m most excited about, besides the fact that we have so many workers going on strike in so many states, so many locations nationwide, is the fact that this is an open-ended strike. We’ve seen so many actions from the baristas, from the Starbucks united workers. We’ve seen so many other red cup days that have been thrown into chaos because their bosses just can’t quite seem to get the message. But this is a big one. They’re going to be on strike until they win. This is a big escalation, I think for them as a union, because there’s no expiration date. They’re out, they’re staying out. That’s got to be kind of scary for the suits. And this is such a difficult time for working class people and poor people. And I just think about the courage it takes to look that reality in the face and say, you know what? I got to do this. I got to stand up for myself and my coworkers, my family, my community. We deserve better things do not need to be this terrible. Things should not be this terrible, especially when the CEO of this company is making millions upon millions upon millions of dollars to do. I don’t know what they do. Emails probably certainly not work as hard as these folks.

Sebastian Maris:

I have a very dear friend. They load and unload trucks for a living last week they messaged me to tell me that they had hit their head on a loading door. They got five staples in their skull and in order for a CT scan. But they told me that they weren’t going to get the scan because they couldn’t afford it. And I’m so fucking angry, not just for them, but for all the friends I’ve seen get hurt at work and not go to the doctor because they couldn’t afford care for all the friends I’ve seen get sick and injured and not be able to take the time off. They needed to properly heal for fear of losing their jobs. And we have been conditioned to accept this, that companies can name their price for our labor, for the use and misuse of our bodies for our very days on this earth. And we have come to trust that we will get hurt at work. And we have come to trust that the moment we do the companies that built their billions off our backs, believe us out in the cold. But there is something we can do. We have a choice. We can choose to fight

Tony Schultz:

Our newest CEO. Brian Nichol did say he’d be willing to speak with the union, speak with our union, rather, that just hasn’t come to fruition. And the ball is in their court. They’re welcome to come back to the table at any time to discuss these things. And they have just consistently not done that. So it’s a little unclear how truthful that statement from him was. The best way to stand in solidarity with us is to simply join the boycott against going to Starbucks while our strike is happening. You can look up, I believe it’s the no contract, no coffee pledge, and you’ll be able to sign up for that. And that’s just you committing to boycotting Starbucks during our strike.

Crowd chants:

Hey, we are going to end it with just one final word for Starbucks. And that word is we’ll be back. We’ll be back!