SEATTLE — Shift supervisor Brenna Nendel stood in the pouring rain Thursday morning, blocking the drive-through at a Queen Anne Starbucks alongside her coworkers who walked off the job to join a nationwide strike.

"We're asking customers to boycott Starbucks while we're on strike," Nendel said as cars honked in support. "No one's working. We're all out here."

The strike, which union workers are calling the "Red Cup Rebellion," was timed to disrupt one of Starbucks' biggest promotional days of the year, when the coffee chain gives away free reusable holiday cups. At least three Washington state locations were closed Thursday — one in Redmond and two in Seattle.

Nationwide, roughly 1,000 unionized baristas walked off the job at 65 stores across more than 40 cities in 13 states, according

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