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On Tuesday, October 10, a Starbucks labor union came under fire after expressing solidarity with the Hamas group amid the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. The now-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter) came from the account for Starbucks Workers United and read as follows:
“Solidarity with Palestine!”
However, the screenshot of the message was captured by several netizens as well as media outlets such as Free Beacon. Since the post went viral, the expression ‘Boycott Starbucks’ has been trending online.
“We should boycott Starbucks”: Coffee chain earns backlash from netizens for supporting Hamas group
On Tuesday, the X account of Starbucks Workers United posted a solidarity message for Palestine. However, netizens deemed it an expression of support for the Hamas group that launched a surprise attack on Israeli soil, forcing Israel to respond with a counterstrike on Saturday, October 7.
Apart from the solidarity message, the now-removed post contained a reshared image of an alleged Hamas “bulldozer” reportedly destroying the Israeli-built wall on the Gaza border.
The union also promoted rallies in support of Hamas across the U.S., including Iowa, Chicago, and Boston. In fact, a march held in Boston on Monday, October 9, featured the slogan “Love Live Palestinian Resistance,” as reported by Collive. Likewise, Iowa City organized “Palestine Resists Occupation” rallies in front of the Israeli consulate in the city.
Meanwhile, one of the leaders and organizers of the union, Jaz Brisack, allegedly praised Palestinian terrorist Rasmea Odeh and tagged him as a “freedom fighter,” reported the Washington Free Beacon. In fact, Brisack on Sunday, October 8, tweeted in support of the Hamas attacks and wrote:
“There’s no ‘two sides’ to apartheid. Free Palestine.”
As soon as the screenshot of the labor union’s tweet surfaced alongside the images of the rallies, netizens expressed their anger and disappointment. In fact, now ‘Boycott Starbucks’ is trending on the social media platform.
So far, the union hasn’t issued a statement regarding the backlash. However, the company issued a clarification to Florida Politics. The statement read as follows:
“To be clear: We (Starbucks) unequivocally disagree with the statements and views expressed by Workers United or its members. Workers United’s words and actions belong to them, and them alone.”
For those uninitiated, Starbucks Workers United, which was behind the controversial post, is an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and represents nearly 9,000 baristas across 360 plus stores. Starbucks previously had outlets in Tel Aviv, Israel, however, those were shut down two decades ago, as per Florida Politics.
Last year, the union started a “No Coffee No Contract” campaign to protest against short staffing, tight schedules, low wages, unaffordable healthcare, s*xual and racial harassment, unfair discipline, and workplace favoritism, among other issues in the company, as per its official website.
Similarly, in 2021, the union earned support from Democrats, including U.S. Representative for New York Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Senator Bernie Sanders, and Senator John Fetterman, for voting and opening Buffalo’s first store. In fact, as per the Daily Wire, back then, Sanders called the union “a tremendous inspiration,” while Fetterman stated he would “continue to stand” with the union.
It is important to note that so far, the Israel-Palestine conflict has claimed over 1350 lives, with the death toll rising. More than 3,000 were also injured. Unfortunately, both Israelis and Palestinian civilians have lost their lives in the conflict.
