The walkout comes on the coffee chain's Red Cup Day event, during which Starbucks hands out free red-colored, reusable, holiday-themed cups to customers on their coffee purchases.
About a dozen workers picketed outside Starbucks' Astor Place outlet at the New York University's campus chanting "no contract, no coffee" and other rhymes.
Red Cup day has typically been a major driver of store traffic, with Placer.ai data showing that visits to U.S. Starbucks stores on the day last year jumped 94% over the daily average for the full year.
Mary Boca, 22, Astor Place, New York barista, said she wants to see higher pay and more staff at Starbucks.
Last year, workers at more than 100 U.S. company-owned Starbucks locations had held a one-day strike on Red Cup day.
Persons:
Lindsay DeDario, Mary Boca, , New York barista, Boca, Edwin Palma Solis, Granth, Shinjini
Organizations:
Mobile, REUTERS, Starbucks, Workers United, NYU, Workers, U.S ., Red, Thomson
Locations:
Hamburg, Buffalo , New York, U.S, United States, Astor, York, , New York, Bengaluru, Arriana, New York City