Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) kicked off a nationwide strike after six months of trying to negotiate a fair contract with the company. To hit the company where it hurts, the union chose Red Cup Day, a major holiday promotional event and one of the biggest sales days of the year.

“The company has forced us into this fight,” said SBWU spokesperson Michelle Eisen at an online press conference.

More than 1,000 union baristas at 65 stores across 40 cities are striking. In Seattle, workers will picket outside stores in the U-District (4147 University Way NE) and on Queen Anne (1144 Elliott Ave. W) this morning.

At 4 p.m., they’ll rally outside the closed Starbucks Reserve Roastery on Capitol Hill. Eisen said the union is prepared to make this the “largest, longest strike in company history.

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