The Starbucks in Downtown Disney District at the Disneyland Resort has reopened. This comes after it closed last weekend when employees walked out on strike. The store reopened on Saturday with reduced hours. It opened at 12:00 PM and closed at 7:00 PM. The Daps Magic team stopped by and things seemed to be running fairly normally, although not overly busy.
The Starbucks store closed on Saturday and had remained closed throughout the week with sign apologizing for the inconvenience of the closure. Starbucks Workers United continue to strike and have said on social media that “we’re prepared for this to become the biggest and longest ULP (unfair labor practice) strike in Starbucks history.”
Starbucks Worker Dispute
The closure was related to a dispute between workers and management. Throughout the week, workers protested on Harbor Boulevard outside of the entrance to the Disneyland Resort. In a post on social media, Starbucks Worker United said: “Baristas at Downtown Disney couldn’t stand another day of their managers’ unfair labor practices & kicked off our nationwide strike this weekend. These workers have shut down one of largest Starbucks stores in the country — and we’re just getting started! #NoContractNoCoffee“
Daps Magic reached out to Starbucks Workers United. In response, the union shared this statement from Jeremiah Pettus, a barista of 2 years at the Downtown Disney Starbucks location, who said: “We walked out on an unfair labor practice strike to protest unlawful union busting by Starbucks. We’re striking to fight back, to end the union busting and settle a fair contract that actually supports baristas. We’ve repeatedly called on Starbucks to offer new proposals that meet our demands for more take-home pay, better hours, and to resolve hundreds of unfair labor practice charges. Starbucks knows where we stand. They know our demands. The ball is in their court.”
A GoFundMe was also started this week for the workers of the Starbucks at Downtown Disney District. There is a goal of raising $5,000. At this point, the largest donor is Jeremiah Pettus. It has raised $531 to date and can be found here.
The strike comes after an authorization for Starbucks Workers United members to strike on November 13, 2025. Also known as Red Cup Day, this is always a very big day for Starbucks, and the strike on Thursday undoubtedly aims to disrupt the day and garner attention. Previous strikes have led to less than 1% of Starbucks locations being impacted. It appears that the workers from the Downtown Disney District Starbucks are the only workers who have decided to start the strike early.
Regarding the authorization to strike, a Starbucks spokesperson said, “We are disappointed that Workers United, who only represents around 4% of our partners, has voted to authorize a strike instead of returning to the bargaining table. When they’re ready to come back, we’re ready to talk. Any agreement needs to reflect the reality that Starbucks already offers the best job in retail, including more than $30 an hour on average in pay and benefits for hourly partners. The facts show people like working at Starbucks. Partner engagement is up, turnover is nearly half the industry average, and we get more than 1 million job applications a year. Our customers can be assured that our partners will be ready to serve them at the vast majority of our more than 10,000 company operated coffeehouses and nearly 7,000 licensed locations throughout the holiday season, regardless of the union’s plans.”
It appears that both parties acknowledge that the Workers United representatives walked away from discussions. While Starbucks continues to assert it is open and willing to make a reasonable deal, it is unclear what is stopping the union from re-entering discussions.
Since unionizing, the Downtown Disney District Starbucks has seen occasional disruptions to its operations as workers have spoken out on the floor in protest on multiple occasions. This week’s strike was the first time that the Downtown Disney District Starbucks was closed because of the activity of the union.
Starbucks Workers United Demands
According to Starbucks Workers United, their demands are as follows:
For over six months, Starbucks has stonewalled union baristas by refusing to put forth new proposals to address their core demands:
- Better hours to improve staffing in our stores. Understaffing is rampant, leading to longer wait times as customer orders stream in. Yet too many baristas still aren’t getting enough hours to pay the bills or meet the threshold for benefits. Starbucks needs to invest in increasing barista hours.
- Higher take-home pay. Too many baristas struggle to get by, while executives make millions. Starbucks needs to put more money toward barista’s take-home pay.
- Resolution for hundreds of outstanding unfair labor practice charges for union busting. The coffee giant has committed more labor law violations than any employer in modern history. Starbucks needs to fully resolve legal issues impacting baristas.
Negotiations Stalled
In the last couple of years, since Starbucks stores began to unionize, there have been attempts at negotiations. These have not led to a contract for the unionized members. The negotiations appear to have broken down after union members attempted to stream private negotiations and then rejected an offer from the coffee company. The talks ended in April 2025 after 200 hours of negotiation and over 30 tentative agreements reached.
Starbucks currently states that it is ready and willing to talk. It has also stated that it currently offers “the best job in retail.” Workers can get benefits when they work 20 hours or more, which include healthcare, parental leave, and tuition for online classes at Arizona State University.
At this point, it seems that a solution between both sides is at an impasse.
Outside of Anaheim
Outside of Anaheim, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol is working on a plan to “get back to Starbucks.” This has led to initiatives to return Starbucks to being a third-place destination for its consumers. Part of this initiative includes investments in the workforce. In a letter announcing the initiative, Niccol said, “For our partners, we’ll build on our tradition of leadership in retail by making Starbucks the best place to work, with career opportunities and a clear path to growth.” In Washington, D.C earlier this week., lawmakers wrote a letter to Starbucks seeking a solution to this conflict. It urges the company to resume talks with the union. Starbucks has made it clear that it is open to talks.
Daps Magic will continue to monitor the events surrounding the Downtown Disney District Starbucks and provide updates as they become available.
