Striking Starbucks baristas in Brooklyn got a major boost on Monday when Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani arrived at their picket line — bringing national attention and star power to a growing labor movement. The strike comes just as New York City announced a $38.9 million settlement with Starbucks after a multi-year investigation found the company committed more than 500,000 violations of the city’s Fair Workweek Law. These violations included cutting workers’ hours without notice, forcing unpredictable schedules, and keeping thousands of baristas involuntarily part-time. More than 15,000 NYC baristas are now expected to receive restitution checks this winter.
00:00We are workers at the end of the day because all of us are united in the belief that we must build a New York where every worker can live a life of decency.
00:13Get down. New York is a union town. Get up. Get down. New York is a union town. Every day. No coffee. No coffee.
00:27Is that what is happening here on this picket line is happening all over this country.
00:34We are living in an economy where the people on top have never, ever had it so good.
00:43Striking Starbucks baristas in Brooklyn got a major boost on Monday when Senator Bernie Sanders and New York City Mayor-elect Zoran Mondani arrived at their picket line,
00:54bringing national attention and star power to a growing labor movement.
00:59And we have so many workers who have inspired us every single day.
01:03And I just want to say thank you before we even start the Q&A portion of this.
01:07We are workers at the end of the day.
01:10And I'm proud to be here today and proud that senior members of my transition team and administration have joined Starbucks picket lines in the days and weeks prior.
01:20The strike comes just as New York City announced a $38.9 million settlement with Starbucks after a multi-year investigation found the company committed more than 500,000 violations of the city's Fair Workweek law.
01:37These violations included cutting workers' hours without notice, forcing unpredictable schedules, and keeping thousands of baristas involuntarily part-time.
01:46More than 15,000 NYC baristas are now expected to receive restitution checks this winter.
01:54Against this backdrop, Sanders and Mondani stood shoulder-to-shoulder with workers in Brooklyn, taking photos, chanting with organizers, and sharply criticizing Starbucks' labor practices.
02:06Mondani, who previously urged New Yorkers to boycott Starbucks during the strike, held a sign reading,
02:12No contract, no Starbucks.
02:15Because all of us are united in the belief that we must build a New York where every worker can live a life of decency.
02:24We must build a New York where our words do not ring hollow as we say that this is a union town.
02:31And we must build a New York where the workers who power it are able to afford to live in it.
02:37Thank you so much.
02:38When I met with the president, I made very clear that these kinds of raids are cruel and inhumane.
02:48That they are raids that do nothing to serve the interests of public safety.
02:53And that my responsibility is to be the mayor to each and every person that calls this city their home.
02:59And that includes millions of immigrants, of which I am one.
03:02And I am proud.
03:03Is that what is happening here on this picket line is happening all over this country.
03:12We are living in an economy where the people on top have never, ever had it so good.
03:20You got one man owning more wealth than the bottom 52% of American households.
03:28He won because he had the guts to talk about the oligarchs and saying that when he was going
03:38to become mayor and when he will become mayor, he's going to stand with the workers here at
03:43Starbucks and workers all over this city.
03:46And what we are seeing in America right now, in congressional races, in Senate races, you're
03:53seeing more and more candidates standing up exactly the same way that Iran did.
03:59Sanders praised the workers for demanding predictable schedules and fair wages, while Mamdani highlighted
04:06the company's pay disparities.
04:07On X, he contrasted Starbucks CEO Brian Nichols' $95 million salary with workers striking for
04:16the bare minimum.
04:17The strike began on Red Cup Day, one of Starbucks's biggest sales days of the year, and has since
04:23spread to dozens of stores across the U.S.
04:25The union says the walkout could grow to more than 500 stores if negotiations don't move forward.
04:32Workers United called the city's massive settlement a major victory.
04:35Proof, they say, that baristas are gaining power by standing together.
04:40As one worker, Kai Fritz, put it,
04:44We are continuing to fight back against Starbucks's greed and won't stop until we have a fair contract.
04:50With high-profile allies now joining the picket line, the fight for better conditions at Starbucks
04:55is entering a new, more energized chapter.
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